Fate Ever Flowing Time
by Leap250
Summary: The war has come yet again, and has chosen new masters, who in turn, summoned new servants. Can Shirou stop the grail once more, can the new protagonist win the war with his servant... Shirou, Rin, and the rest of the gang are back..and better than ever.
1. Jump start

Fate/ Ever flowing Time

**NOTE**: Any of the characters/events read on this story is not mine, they belong to type moon.

Chapter 1 – Jump start – Masato Hanzo arc ( fictional, created by me)

Tried out a new character…please enjoy.

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**My name is Masato Hanzo, I'm 15 years old, pretty much your average, ordinary teenager, I have short, black hair, light skin tone, I wear a yellow shirt and baggy shorts, usually, that's all that would define me...but I guess, things changed that day...**

**********************************************************************************

*_Yawn_* "Ahhh…that nap sure felt good" I say to myself as I struggle to stand up.

"It's Saturday today, I guess I should help out sis with our new house"

I went outside and saw my sister cleaning up the yard. We moved to fuyuki city a week ago. Since our parents died, me and my sister have been living in our old house, until it was torn down and bought by a large company. Seeing as we don't have any other choice, we decided to move away from that place as far as possible…And, well, here we are.

"Masato?..well that was a long snooze you took, hmm, since you're awake…would you mind getting a few things from the store for me?"

"Sure..since you did everything else..it's the least I could do"

As I got the list of things I needed to buy, I then headed to town. Fuyuki city sure is a big place, I never thought we'd actually be living here. I hadn't gotten used to this place, so I had a hard time looking for a store. I was so busy looking for one, I didn't realize I was about to bump into someone.

*_Bump_* "Whoaah"

I tried to maintain my balance, but I still fell hard.

"Oh shoot…I'm sorry, I didn't mean to" I quickly apologized, seeing that I made him drop his groceries.

"Haha..Don't worry about it, it was just an accident, anyway, It doesn't seem you're from around here."

"You're right, uhmmm, we just moved here, me and my sister I mean."

"Is that right, what's you're name then?"

"Masato Hanzo."

"Hanzo..well, my name is Emiya Shirou."

Emiya Shirou..he seemed like a very nice man, which made me feel worse to just bump into him like that. I'm not very social, so I have a hard time socializing with people.

"Anyway, what are you doing here Masato?"

"Uhmm, looking for some stuff for my sister."

"Stuff huh."

"More like groceries."

"Hmm, if you want, I can tell you where I bought my groceries, maybe they'll have what you need."

"Yeah, that would really make my day."

"Alright, go down that corner, and turn left, you'll see the shop then."

"Okay, thank you Mr. Emiya."

"Your welcome..and just call me Shirou, I don't mind."

"Well, looks like a better be going, see you around Masato." said Shirou, as he walked away.

I hadn't had the chance to get out of the house, so I never really actually met someone, but that Shirou guy was pretty nice.

I followed his instructions, and found a shop.

"He said they might have what I need."

As I entered the shop, I was welcomed by the grocer and the shop keeper.

"Good Afternoon kid, what can I do you for."

"Uh, here."

I handed the list to the shop keeper.

"Wait just a minute, I'll gather these things up."

I bought the things my sister needed, the shop was a little further away from my house, so it would take a while to get there. As I started my way home I noticed it was getting dark, I heard some reports here about murders and what not, so I got scared for moment.

*_Clang*Hack*Slash* _

"Wh-What the hell was that" I then got really scared as I heard, what seemed to be a fight using metal weapons.

I started running, but before I knew it, the sounds were getting nearer.

*_Zap*Blast*Boom_*

"First weapons, now explosions..what's next"

I then regret having asked that question, as I saw what was making those noises. A fight between what seemed to be a man dressed in armor wielding a sword, and a cloaked guy with light coming out of his hands.

"What is this, a video game!?, Why the hell would there be a knight and a wizard here!?"

I started running, as fast as I could. I thought I was in the clear when suddenly..

*_Thud_* I tripped. I started thinking 'Why now, why did I have to trip now'

I hadn't noticed that their fighting stopped maybe they heard me.

Are they gonna kill me, cause I'm a witness?

I felt even worse when I saw the armored man charging toward me, I was done for, I knew I was going to die, but then-

"Haaaaaaaaaaa" *_Clang_*

A man with two swords blocked the incoming attack of the armored man, it took me a while to recognize the man..

"Sh-Shirou..what are you doing here? Who are these people? What the hell's happening" I couldn't control myself, a few seconds ago I was about to die, now seeing Shirou, a guy I just met, save me.

"There's no time to explain..Rin, take him to the house, now"

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, What were those things Shirou was holding, swords, black and white swords? And, How did he know where I was? I saw him go home, right?

"Come on, let's go" said a woman in a red robe-like jacket.

"Wait, where are you taking me!?" I asked as the woman started dragging me away

"There's no time..let's go!"

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**Shirou: Hey leap, ain't you gonna tell them what _we_ look like?**

**Leap:Yeah, yeah..**

** Shirou - wears blue and white t-shirt, with blue jeans, and slip on rubber shoes. He has short orange hair (red-orange maybe) and average skin tone. The black and white swords that he used are caalled Kansho and Bakuya, respectively.**

** Rin - wears a red robe over a waiscoat (vest), which in turn, is over a traditional school girl outfit. She has long wavy black hair, with black ribbons tied on each side. We'll see more of her sorcery later on.**

**Leap: See ya next time readers^^**

**Shirou/Rin: Bye!!  
**


	2. Chosen

Chapter 2 – Chosen

"_There's no time to explain..Rin, take him to the house, now"_

_I couldn't believe what I was seeing, What were those things Shirou was holding, swords, black and white swords?_

"_Come on, let's go" said a woman in a red robe-like jacket._

"_There's no time..let's go!"_

************************************************************************************

"Hey, hey wait…wait up" I tried to stop her from dragging me away.

"Wh-What about Shirou?" I ask

"He'll be fine, he's a sorcerer after all"

"A what?" I couldn't understand the situation I was in.

_Sorcerer_...it was the first time I've ever heard that word being used so seriously, more importantly, does a sorcerer even exist..

"Could we just stop for minute, I'm getting tired." I said, as I was panting, and gasping for air, we were running for a while, I think we were nearly reaching the end of town.

"Wait, uhmm, I'm sorry, I hadn't introduced myself, I'm Masa-"

"Masato Hanzo, Age 15, Blood type O"

How the hell did this girl know my name, along with my blood type…even I don't know my own Blood type.

"How do you know my name?"

"Look, I'll explain everything later, right we need to get to the house" said the girl.

"Alright, but you could at least tell me your name." I guess if I'm running of with someone, might as well know her name.

"Fine..I'm Tohsaka Rin, happy now"

"Alright..let's go"

We went further than I expected, we reached a mansion overlooking the city, it seemed that no one else lived there.

"Okay, we got here, now tell me…why the heck was I brought here"

"Alright, already, geez"

"You were brought here because…you're a sorcerer"

"What? Okay, stop joking, seriously, why am I here" No way was I going to believe it.

"It's no joke Masato" Rin said, with a stern voice.

"How do you expect me to believe that I'm a sorcerer?"

What a joke, how can I be a sorcerer, I don't even know what sorcerers do.

"I don't…I actually expected this to happen, but please, trust me, if you don't...I'm afraid Shirou won't make it"

Darn, Shirou, we left him there with two men who could possibly kill him in thirty minutes. I guess I don't have much of a choice, I've got to trust her.

"Alright..suppose I'm a sorcerer, what can I do to help Shirou out" I said

"Well..you can summon someone to help you save Shirou...a servant"

"A...servant?..like an..assistant?"

"More or less, yeah."

"What will this servant do then?"

"I'll explain the details later, now if you'll just-"

"Wait, you're a sorcerer too, right Rin? So what do you need me for?"

"Well, you're right, but..you're a different kind of sorcerer, you were chosen." Rin said

"Chosen? Chosen by who?"

"The Holy Grail"

"The what?" I don't understand anything that's happening, sorcerers, the holy grail, what does it all mean.

"There's no time, let's go." Rin said, as she hurriedly pulled me to a room with what seems to be some kind of circle.

The place looked ominous, probably used for all sorts of sorcery.

"Place your hands on the magic circle"

"O-kay" I didn't know where this was all going, but I had to trust her, for Shirou's sake.

"Now, think of your deepest desires."

"I'm fifteen, my desires aren't that deep"

"Just..focus!" she seemed agitated so I shut myself up.

Focus..right, what is my desire..my parents?...my family?

"Alright, now what"

*_Crash_* "Aaahhhhhhhhhh"

Darn it…the armored man, he's here, but, he can't be here, that means Shirou..

"Alright kid, playtime's over, enough hide and seek…and just let me kill you!"

Darn, is this it, my final moments, my death because of a sword.

"Masato, focus!"

Focus? But I don't know what to do, she said something about summoning someone, but I don't know how.

"Alright, here goes"

I then closed my eyes and concentrated, I didn't know what to do so I pleaded, to whoever it was I were to summon.

"Please, help me, whoever you are, I..summon you"

"Too late kid, don't worry, it won't last long" Said the armored man as he was about to strike me with his sword.

*_Flash*Clang_*

A blinding light filled the room, as a man, with a long spear appeared before us.

"Servant Lancer is here" said the man.

"Tsk..lucky for you my master dislikes fights like this, I'll get you next time kid." said the armored man, as he disappeared in thin air.

"I-It's over?…wait, Rin!"

Rin was hit by the armored man, she wasn't wounded, but she appeared to be hurt.

"Rin, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, we need to check on Shirou."

We returned to the spot where we left Shirou, and saw him kneeling down, probably in pain.

"Shirou, what happened, where's the other servant"

"He ran off, darn, he really did a number on me" Shirou said, while grieving in pain.

"What are your orders, Master" said the magic circle man.

"Servant..Lancer?"

"Just Lancer would be nice."

"Okay..Lancer, could you carry Shirou up to his house please"

"Of course."

Lancer..Servant, what in the world did I get myself into.


	3. Truth and Lies

Chapter 3 – Truth and Lies

"_Servant..Lancer?" _

"_Just Lancer would be nice."_

"_Okay..Lancer, could you carry Shirou up to his house please"_

"_Of course."_

_Lancer..Servant, what in the world did I get myself into._

_************************************************************************************_

"Aw, aw, that hurts, geez Rin, could you be a little more gentle please." Shirou said, as he was grieving in the pain of a wound on his right arm.

"Stop being a baby, and relax." Said Rin, while applying healing magic on the wound

I sat there, trying to understand everything that has happened, it just won't make sense to me.

"Rin, you said something about a war…can you please explain it to me."

I couldn't help it, I knew I was the cause of all this fighting that happened, I just wanted to know what am I supposed to do now..

"Well, there's no point in hiding it from you now, listen closely, we are in the middle of a war, the holy grail war, it's the sixth time it has happened, in fact, the last one occurred four years ago."

"Four years...is it that frequent." I ask

"It's not supposed to be." said Rin

"Usually it takes about ten to thirty years before another war takes place, but recently...the wars have stated more prematurely than expected."

"Okay, so there's a war, and I'm a sorcerer...?"

"Yes"

"Then, How did I become a sorcerer?"

"Well, your family name is Hanzo right?"

"Yeah...but what's that got to do with it?"

"You see...the Hanzo name is known to be a lineage of sorcerers."

"You mean to say...the whole time time, my family.."

"Yes..most likely, you all are sorcerers."

I was content with what I heard, since there's no way I could prove her wrong anyway, so I let her continue..

"Each war, the grail chooses seven sorcerers to become masters, who can summon someone to aid them, ergo, servants." Rin continued as she finished nursing Shirou.

"Wait, but what about you and Shirou, weren't you guys chosen as well, I mean you're a far better sorcerer than me right ?"

"True, but, we were already chosen in the last war, and the grail doesn't pick a certain person twice."

So I have my own servant...

"By the way…where's Lancer?"

"He said he'd watch out for enemies"

"Watch for enemies?"

"Yeah..you're a master in this war, so, technically, you're officially a target."

_*Gulp*_ "A...target!?"

"Rin..why'd you have to scare Masato like that."

"He'll be fine, he's got Lancer after all."

"Well, anyway, the victor of the holy grail, will have what he or she most desires for."

"Okay, I get the war part down, so, what about the servants..what exactly are they?"

I had no clue what they are exactly, because, frankly, I don't know very much about fighting.

"Hmm, I guess you could say they're heroes."

"Heroes?..Then why would a hero want to kill someone, I mean, that armored guy wasn't exactly friendly."

"It's not their call anymore, the master decides what the servant must do, even if it's against their will."

"But, can't a servant, you know, make his own decisions?"

"Well, in terms of how they live and position their selves in the master's life than yea, but other than that, no, as long as the master has a reiju tattoo, they have full control."

"Reiju..tattoo?"

"Look at your left hand."

"My left ha-..when did I get this!?"

I freaked when I saw a tattoo on my left hand, darn it, things are getting weirder by the second.

"Hey, you still listening to me?" Rin asked as she saw me spacing out.

"Y-Yeah"

"Okay, the servants are divided into seven distinct classes; Archer, Saber, Caster, Rider, Berserker, Assasin and Lancer."

"So that means, the ones who attacked me were a Caster class and.. a Saber class?"

As I asked, I noticed Shirou flinched for a second.

"Yes."

"So...my servant's class is, Lancer...right?"

"Yup, well, that about sums it up, it's getting late, we'll continue tomorrow."

Oh shoot, I completely forgot about my sister, she's going to kill me

"Shirou, take Masato home, if her sister asks,say…he helped us find our lost cat."

"But..we don't have a cat…do we!?..where is he?..or her?"

"That's the point, idiot."

"Okay..no need to play harsh words, let's go Masato."

************************************************************************************

We started walking towards my house, it was really late alright, darn it, I didn't even have the things she asked me to buy, she's going to kill me, and on top of that, I haven't figured out a way to explain Lancer to her, Rin said he has to follow me where ever I go. Darn it.

"Hey, what are you mumbling about?"

"O-Oh nothing really, by the way, Shirou..so, what happened last time, I mean in the fifth Holy Grail war?"

"Oh..Well, uhmm, How do I put this?..It wasn't a pretty sight I guess."

"Master, I suggest it would be wise not to pursue the topic any more, seeing as Shirou has something he doesn't want to say." Lancer interrupted.

"Well, it's not that, it's just…complicated that's all."

"I understand Shirou..some things you need to keep to yourself right?"

As we arrived at my house, I started to think of the things my sister would do to me, just the thought made me scared.

"Sis, hey, I'm home, sis, where are you, hey-"

As I turned on the light, I saw that my placed had been assaulted.

"Darn it, what happened ."

"Looks to me like another servant, Master."

"How do you know?" Shirou asks

Lancer responds by pointing at the sliding doors of my sister's room…slashes, huge slashes, definitely a sword, or anything sharp.

"What would they want with my sister?" I asked as my eyes started to fill with tears.

"I..don't know." Shirou says, almost saddened as well.

"It's dangerous, now that they know you're whereabouts, we should take shelter somewhere else, Master."

"Oh, and spoil the fun I was expecting.?" Said a familiar voice.

"Tsk..Saber." said Lancer

"No need to be so formal…seeing as you are about to die, might as well tell you my real name…Rolf Kage!"

"Rolf Kage?...The Danish king!" said Shirou in disbelief.

"That means the sword you're holding is none other than..Skofnung!"

"Yes, my sword is very well known in history because of its sharpness and hardness…You don't stand a chance you second rate Lancer!"

"This is bad…stay back, Master!" said Lancer

"Right, wait Shirou, what are you-"

"Trace on!"

Those swords, the black and white swords, they appeared out of thin air, amazing!

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

*_Clang*Slash*Stab_*

The battle was tense, Shiou used his swords to take on Rolf head on, while Lancer supported him from the back, but Rolf was too strong, he quickly overpowered Shirou.

"Darn it, I can't get anywhere near this guy." Shirou said

"Of course you can't, my servant is the best of all in hand to hand, you should know that Emiya." Said a voice I've never heard before.

A woman appeared from the shadows, she was average in height, probably in her 20's, dressed in black robes, she looked like she knew all of us the way she talked so freely and all.

"I expected more from you Shirou Emiya, but I guess..this is the end for you! Rolf, finish them."

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**Lancer: Master Leap, might I suggest you educate our audience on our respective appearance.**

**Leap: Fine..**

** Lancer - wears a bluish-grey brigandine (leather armor), and most of his body is covered with the same material, he also wears silver greaves and silver gauntlets. He has short white hair, with a fair skin tone. He's well built and taller than an average man. He wields a grey spear(name will be given later on in the story)**

** Rolf - wears a traditional knight's cuirass with a gold and red motif, the armor that covers his body is made of the same material. He's very robust and masculine in form. He has wavy brown hair and a fairly long beard. His sword is known as Skofnung. In legend, it is said that Skofnung was one of the few swords that held the most durabiity and sharpness.  
**

**Leap: That's about it, see ya^^**

**Lancer: Farewell  
**


	4. Einherjar, the true power

Chapter 4 – True Power (Shirou arc)

"_Of course you can't, my servant is the best of all in hand to hand, you should know that Emiya." Said a voice I've never heard before._

_A woman appeared from the shadows, she was average in height, probably in her 20's, dressed in black robes, she looked like she knew all of us the way she talked so freely and all._

"_I expected more from you Shirou Emiya, but I guess..this is the end for you! Rolf, finish them."_

_************************************************************************************_

Darn it, Rolf's too powerful, I don't know if Lancer could take him, I guess I'll have to pull out my trump card…

"Trace…on"

A blinding light enveloped the room, as I tried to summon the best sword I knew..The sword in the tree, the legendary sword of King Arthur, also...Saber.

"Prepare yourself Rolf…Cali--Burn!!"

*_Clang*Spark_*

The Impact it created was so immense, that the floor beneath Rolf was almost shattered, but Rolf himself was left unscathed.

*_Swish*Clang_*

"Hahaha..Don't you see Emiya, you can't beat my servant!"said the master of Rolf

"Just who exactly are you?..What do you want with us?"

"Now, now, I already permitted you to know my servants name, that's enough gratitude for strangers, no?"

"Hmm…this is getting boring..Rolf, just kill the boy already."

"Yes, Master."

"Oh no, Masato."

I left him unprotected, his sorcerery is still dormant, he can't possibly survive a hit from Rolf, I'm too far away, I won't make it...

"Noooooooooooooo."

_*Slash*_

"You'd have to get through me first!"Lancer said, as he used his spear to deflect Rolf's attack."

Right, among the seven classes, the Lancer class is the most agile while wielding a weapon, he should be able to outclass Rolf in terms of speed, and I could probably penetrate through his defenses with a strike from Excalibur, but we'd need more space, the best we could do now is take the fight outside.

"Lancer..try to lead Rolf outside, we'd have a better chance there."I whisper to Lancer, who in turn, agrees with my plan.

"Rolf, I dare you, you can't hit me even if I didn't use my spear."

"I bet you can't even catch up to me."

"Which is to be expected from such an unworthy warrior."After which, Lancer then dashed outside the house.

"You arrogant knave! I'll take your head off!!"said Rolf as he charged outside as well.

Alright, my plan worked, I just need to get an opening and I'll strike him with my sword.

"Do you really think I would just let you kill my servant."

I forgot about this woman, who knows what king of power she has.

"On second thought, I don't wanna fight…It'll just waste my mana."

***********Lancer*******************************************************************

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

_*Slash*_

"Grrr...." You've got to be kidding me, maybe frustrating him wasn't such a brilliant plan.

"Hahaha, had enough boy..Hmph, you're lucky, you get to be killed by the great Rolf Kage."

Tsk..he's right, It's my first fight as a servant, and already I'm about to lose, is it the time to use it? Can I afford not to? Let's just hope it doesn't reveal my identity..

"Get ready Rolf…cause you're about to die!"

"Haaaaaaa—Einher-Jar"

At that moment, my spear was engulfed with light, the light that penetrates any defense, that's my power, that's....Einherjar!

"Hmph, this should be fun!!" said Rolf, as he prepared to counter my attack...Hmph, no one has ever countered my attack, not even once.

_*Slash*Clang*_

"Ha..Too bad kid, your spear just isn't going to hi—"

"What!?"

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

"Tsk…if you won't fight then I will!"

"Cali--Bu"

"Hraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Rolf!, what in the hell happened? How did you get this wound?"

Wow, Caliburn didn't even scratch his armor...Lancer must be one heck of an epic spirit.

"Very well, we shall retreat for now, Hmph."

And just like that, they vanished. The fight really took a toll on the house; shattered windows, broken floorboards...I think it'd be best to take Masato home with me.

"Oi, Masato."

"Y-Yeah?"

"It's okay now, they're gone."

"What about my sister."

"Don't worry, we'll get her back, but first we need to go back to my place, we need to talk to Rin about this."

I could see the fear in the kid's eyes,*tsk* , It's bad enough that we involved him in this war, and now he lost his only family."

"Hey, Masato, you're gonna be staying with me for now, is that alright?"

"Y-Yeah, sure."

I wish I could do more for him, Darn it.

As we got to the house, we didn't have the chance to rest, as we were intrigued by the women of the household; first is Sakura Matou, she's been coming here more often than before because of his brother's death; Ms. Fujimura, she comes here to eat dinner, she always acts as my sister, which is cool and sometimes annoying at times; Ilyasviel von Einzbern, or better known as Ilya, has been living here after the events of the last war, since no one's left to take care of her anymore.

"Sempai!, where have you been!?, I was so worried,*_blushes*_ I mean, we were so worried about you." said Sakura

"Yeah, because of you we didn't feel like eating until you came." As expected of Ms. F, she always chooses food first.

"Shirou-kun, you shouldn't have been out so long, I didn't have anyone to be with." Said Ilya, she's always like that.

"Hey guys, sorry 'bout that, I just had something to take care of first."

"Hmm, and what is that _something _you speak off?"

"Well, uhmm..him."

"*Gasp*" said Sakura, Ms.F, and Ilya in unison.

"This is Masato, he'll be living with us for now, you see, his place isn't exactly a place to live in right now."

"Oh, and what about your family then?" asked Ms. F

"My..family, I..don't have a family right now.." answered Masato, he was still depressed and probably confused after all that has happened tonight.

"Well, enough of that, this kid's been through a lot, and I'd appreciate it if you guys chipped in to help him."

"Poor dear, you must be starving, I'll prepare a special meal for you." Said Sakura, accompanied with her heartwarming smile.

"Ilya will prepare his bed." Said Ilya, as she quickly ran towards the guest room.

"And I'll find some clean clothes for him to wear. Geez Shirou, where did you take this boy, a warzone? "

"If you only knew."

"What did you say?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Well, might as well prepare a hot bath as well, would you like that Masato?"

"Y-Yes..Thank you all..so much."

"Oh, it's nothing really, consider yourself a member of the Emiya household."

I'm glad..Sakura, Ilya, and Ms. Fujimura, made Masato feel right at home.

I guess…I should let him rest for tonight, I'll tell Masato tomorrow…before it happens again.

***************************************************************************

**Leap: Hi there, I'm here to explain some things that you've heard in here.**

** Caliburn: The original sword of King Arthur/Arturia/Saber. A less extravagant, but as sharp and durable as Excaliber, although it doesn't posses any powers that Excaliber might have.  
**

** Einher-Jar: Is Lancer's noble phantasm. It generates light that covers his spear to the tip, which enables it to penetrate any defense. In reality, Einherjar's are souls summoned by the valkyries of the ruler of Asgard. **

**Leap: That;s it for today's lesson, stay tuned^^  
**


	5. Distant realms part 1

Chapter 5 – Distant realms( part 1)

"_Y-Yes..Thank you all..so much."_

"_Oh, it's nothing really, consider yourself a member of the Emiya household."_

_I'm glad..Sakura, Ilya, and Ms. Fujimura, made Masato feel right at home. _

_I guess…I should let him rest for tonight, I'll tell Masato tomorrow…before it happens again. _

***********Masato********************************************************************

I spent the night at Shirou's house, maybe I'm going to be staying here for a while, seeing that he's the only person I can trust right now. This war really messed with my life thus far. I can't blame anyone for what has happened, maybe I'm just a victim of circumstance, tsk, I'll think about it later.

It was a bright morning, the warmth of the sun felt good. I've never felt such warmth, it felt weird, but at the same time...invigorating.

"I see you've awaken, Master." Said Lancer.

"N-No need to call me master…just call me Masato."

"Masato..yes, it does sound more pleasant that way."

"That's good to hear."

I noticed that Lancer had been in the same position from when I slept, sitting down with doors behind him.

"Did you sleep, Lancer?" I ask.

"Just a little, I had to stay awake, in case of an attack."

"O-kay then."

"Good morning, Masato." Said Sakura as she was passing by

I've had the chance to meet Sakura over dinner last night, she's a very nice person.

"Good morning, Lancer."

"Good morning Mistress Sakura." Said Lancer.

"N-No need to be so formal Lancer, just call me Sakura." She replied.

"Well, breakfast is almost ready, so feel free to go to the kitchen." Said Sakura as she then went away.

Seeing as we had a little time to kill, I decided to ask Lancer about some stuff about him, I never really had the chance to do it.

"So, uhmm, Lancer…you're a hero, right?" I ask

"Yes.." said Lancer

"Then..who are you? I mean your true identity."

"Seeing that you are my master, you have a right to know, but, unfortunately, I can't remember my name.."

"Is that so?" said a familiar voice

We were startled as Rin and Shirou walked in the room.

"Mistress Rin!" Said Lancer

"So you know you're identity, that is to be expected, since you were summoned by a novice sorcerer." Said Rin, as she then sat down in front of us.

" All I can tell you is where I'm from, other than that, I don't know anymore." Said Lancer

"Where are you from, then?"

"I am from a place called Asgard, in the realms of Valhalla."

"Asgard!?."

"Valhalla!?"

Rin and Shirou were shocked, I didn't know why, I've never heard of those places before.

"What's with you guys, I don't know what the big deal is, where is Asgard?"

"Masato, Asgard is..the realm of the norse gods." Said Shirou

"Hmm, I've never heard of a spear man from Asgard, I better do more research about this."

"Why?" I ask

"Well, knowing who your servant is, will be a great adventage to you, because you can strategize better that way." Said Rin

"By the way, Lancer..That attack you used on Rolf, what was it." Asked Shirou, indeed the attack was awesome, it was if as though the spear found its own way to hit that swordsman…Rolf.

"Einher-Jar…" answered Lancer

"Is that what you were telling me about, Shirou?"

"Yeah..you see, I traced Excaliber to fight Rolf, but it didn't even leave a mark on his armor..but Lancer's attack, pierced through his armors, as if it were a piece of cloth."

"Indeed…an amazing skill." Added Rin

Is Lancer really that powerful…

I began to ponder the thought for a while, until Sakura called us for breakfast.

"Wow, Sakura, this looks..delicious!" I said

"Yay! Ilya will eat a whole lot." Said Ilya

I also met Ilya last night, she seems to be the same age as me, maybe older..

"Oh my, Sakura, everything looks so yummy." Said Ms. F

Shirou said Ms. Taiga prioritizes food first, I kinda doubt that..I'll just have to wait and see

"Honestly, Sakura, you outdid yourself." Said Shirou

"What do you expect, she's my sister after all."

"Thank you all, so much." Said Sakura, she started to blush, probably from all the praise, then she quickly bowed her head, she must've noticed that I noticed..

I was amazed at how the food was presented, much like…my sister, yeah, she could probably make something similar.

"Well, no point in staring at food when you can eat it, Okay, all together." Shirou said

"Itadakimasu!!"

The food was delicious, and they were all so lively, I've never experienced this kind of friendship..

As they were all eating, I noticed that Lancer wasn't..

"Hey, Lancer..Why aren't you eating?" I ask

"My apologies, it's just that, I'm not used to this kind of cuisine."

"Well, it won't hurt to try right?"

"I guess not, Master."

Lancer than picked up his bowl of Miso soup, and tasted it.

"…It's..delicious."

And before I know it, he was already scarfing down and trying out everything.

"Hey!!..leave some for Ilya!!"

"Now, now, no need to— Ilya! you took my fried shrimp!!" said Ms. F

"No I didn't, Shiou did." Said Ilya

"Wha—I didn't do it."

They were all so lively, I couldn't help but to laugh, and then, they all laughed, even Lancer..

"It's nice to hear you laugh once in a while Masato." Said Shirou.

"I can't help it, you guys are so funny."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, they're a bunch of clowns aren't they." Said Rin

"WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!" They all said in unison

These guys, they're like a family, I'm happy, I got to meet them all.


	6. Distant realms part 2

Chapter 6 – Distant realms part 2

"_It's nice to hear you laugh once in a while Masato." Said Shirou._

"_I can't help it, you guys are so funny."_

"_Yeah, I know what you mean, they're a bunch of clowns aren't they." Said Rin_

"_WHAT DID YOU SAY!!!" They all said in unison _

_These guys, they're like a family, I'm happy, I got to meet them all. _

***********Rin***********************************************************

*Tsk* "Darn, just who is this guy."

After breakfast, I went over to the local library to check out Lancer's true identity, but so far, I hadn't had the slightest clue..

"I've checked every book that relates to Asgard and Valhalla, but none of them fits Lancer's profile."

It has to be in one of these books..so I continued to browse everything, from norse mythology to legendary heroes. This guy…if we don't find out who he is, this might prove to be trouble.

After a while of scanning through nearly a dozen books, I decided to take a break at a coffee shop.

"What will you have, Miss." Said the cashier

"Tea please."

"Okay, please wait for a while, Ma'am."

I then started to think of Lancer's identity again, in the books, I'd say that he'd probably be an einherjar, or even a valkyrie, but on the contrary, no one can recognize a valkyrie, or an einherjar…because, no mortals can see them, if that's the case, then he wouldn't probably be a servant, because, he wasn't recognized as a hero..so, who is he!

"Aaahhh"

I buried my head in my arms, all this thinking is going to give me a headache.

"Excuse me, Miss, your tea?"

"O-Oh, just leave it on the table."

*sigh* Maybe some tea will help me sort this out, if only there was another clue, another thing that links him to his true identity.

***********Lancer***********************************************************

"Do I really have to wear this, Masato?" I ask

Throughout the morning they've been trying out clothes for me to wear, which, in normal cases would be quite acceptable, but in this case…

"It looks good on you." Said Masato

"No it doesn't, here, try this." As Shirou handed me another set of clothes.

So far, I have worn; a long sleeved shirt, a coat, a pair of pants, and some exercise shorts.

"Shirou, pardon my actions, but may I ask, do you have anything that's more appropriate and possibly more comfortable?"

"Hmm, wait, I got just the thing."

Shirou then dug through a cabinet of clothes, until he handed me matching pair of a yellow button up long sleeved shirt and yellow pants.

"Yes, this feels much more comfortable."

"Well, it's yours for now."

"Where'd you get it, Shirou?" Masato asks

"It used to be my school uniform, haha, who thought it'd still be put to good use."

"I shall use these garments when I go outside?" I ask, we were told by the keeper of the room of heroes, that the rituals in this part of time, are quite different from what my kind used to do.

"Yeah, we wouldn't want you to go around in public wearing armor, right?" Masato said in response.

"Agreed."

After much heavily thought decisions on what I should be wearing, I decided to just sit down and meditate.

I wasn't much concerned with what I'd look like in public, seeing that I don't know what to be ashamed of, I don't even know who I am. It bothers me that I am still unable to recall anything from past, aside from what I already know. I can only recall myself, being seated at a throne, watching over a vast utopia…who am I?

***********Shirou****************************************************************

After deciding on what Lancer should wear… I decided to check on Rin, I hadn't noticed her come in the house. It's getting late, she usually doesn't go out at this time of night, maybe I didn't hear her…I'll ask around..

First I went to Ilya, she usually knows where one person in this house goes to when they take off.

"Hey, Ilya"

"Oh, hello Shirou." Said Ilya

"By any chance, have you seen Rin anywhere?"

"Now you're chasing Rin, I see?"

"It's not like that, I'm just worried, she didn't come back from when she left after breakfast."

"Oh, well in that case, I haven't seen her, I've been here in my room all day, but maybe Sakura knows."

"I'll go ask Sakura then, thanks Ilya."

As I left Ilya's room, I began thinking of the possible places she could be, but, why wouldn't she tell us where she would be going, darn it, she's always like this, disappearing and then coming back like no one cares..

"Hi Sakura."I said

"Oh, hello sempai."

"I was wondering, do you know where Rin is right now?"

"Last I heard she was going to the library, didn't she tell you?"

"No, she didn't..I'm going to the library."

"Sempai?"

"Don't worry Sakura, I won't be long, I just need to check on her, that's all."

"O-Okay then Sempai, should I tell them where you went?"

"I guess it would be better not to."

If there was any trouble, I don't want to drag more people into it.

"I'll be going then."

"Be careful…Sempai."

I rode my bike to the local library in the center of town.

What would she be doing in a library? _*sigh*_ I just hope it doesn't involve Masato.

***********Sakura************************************************************

"Sempai...going off alone again.."

"What's the matter, Sakura?" asked Masato

"Oh, Masato, you were here, I-I didn't notice."

"What were you saying about Shirou?"

"Shirou, oh, uhmm nothing, he just went for a walk, that's all"

"Well..Okay then."

I can't help but be worried, but I know he would be more upset if something were to happen to Masato because of him...

"Shirou...please...be safe."

***********Rin***************************************************************

After the break that I took at the coffee shop, I went back to the library, it won't be long until all the servants are summoned, and that means, they're the first target…Lancer could fight, that's a sure thing, but without knowing his true power, and the fact that he was summoned by an inexperienced sorcerer, makes him generally weaker than he should be.

"it's just got to be in one of these books, I'm sure of it."

I scanned and rescanned every page of every book that involved norse mythology, and still…I can't figure out who he is. I had to browse three or four more books when I realized…maybe what I'm looking for, is something I already know…

"Okay…norse mythology, gods and goddesses, wars."

I started to think through everything that I know so far.

"Asgard, Utgard, Valkrie.."

I know I'm close to figuring it out, I just need to think harder..

"Come on, what else…gods, throne…king."

"Wait a minute…king."

I then checked a book, to see if what I'm thinking was right..

"…the king with the holy spear."

"It can't be, but, it's the only one that fits, this person, this king, has got to be him, there's no one else."

***********???**************************************************************

"Berserker…It's time"

********************************************************************************

**Leap: I focused this chapter on Lancer, as we know more and more about who he is, can you guess?, it's pretty obvious right…of course I won't tell you guys who he really is until the next chapter. Also, berserker makes his first appearance, although, we only hear his master's orders.**

**Stay tuned for the next chapter^^**


	7. Awaken

Chapter 7 – Awaken

"_Wait a minute…king."_

_I then checked a book, to see if what I'm thinking was right.._

"…_the king with the holy spear."_

"_It can't be, but, it's the only one that fits, this person, this king, has got to be him, there's no one else."_

***********Shirou********************************************************************

_*pant* _I rode my bike a few blocks away from my house, I was getting exhausted, but I've got to find Rin, it's getting late, who knows when someone will attack or something.

"Oh, taking a ride are we."

I stopped, a voice came from the shadows of the alley nearby.

"Don't stop on my account, you're free to pass…as long as you can get through him!"

At that moment, a huge, muscular man appeared. I gasped as the thought that I'd have to fight him. If I'm not mistaken, he'd probably be a berserker class, I better be careful.

"You know Shirou, I think we've fought before…me as servant that is."

I listen as the voice was getting closer…This person, must be the Caster I fought, the night Masato summoned Lancer..

"Alright Berserker…kill him!"

"Raaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Berserker charged at me, he was wielding a shield and a sword, he was wearing no other armor exept the piece of cloth for his garments. This guy, must be a very strong fighter, I need to be careful.

"Trace..on."

_*Clang*_

I traced Caliburn to block his incoming attack. The fight became a test of strength, of course, I was no match, I was quickly brought down on my knees, but still held Caliburn…I still got a chance.

"Haaaa"

I rolled away from the strike of his sword, and quickly came at him.

_*Clang*_

"No way!"

He blocked my attack with his shield, and his sword quickly followed.

*Slash*

"Aaaahhhh"

His sword created a huge wound on my right side, I felt so weak, I didn't know if I was going to make it.. I fell down hard, I could barely stand..

"Well, that was quick, good job Berserker."

"Darn it, show yourself!"

I couldn't bare this guy just watching from the shadows, laughing as I become nearer and nearer to passing out.

"Very well, but I must warn you..the body you are about to see, is merely a tool I used to summon berserker."

I couldn't believe what I saw..it was the body of a girl, she was fairly tall, with long black hair, wearing black robes.

"You fiend! How dare you use an innocent life, you ought to die."

"Hahaha-Hahahaha"

"What are you laughing about!?"

"Fate, my young enemy…it's funny how it links us, you see, this girl…is the person your young master is looking for."

"Wh-What!? That's Masato's sister!"

"Yes..this girl, has a dormant magic circuit in her, so I seized her, and made her my puppet in this war."

"D-Darn you.." I couldn't stay conscious if I tried..everything was fading away..

"Don't worry, I won't kill you, I still need to use you as bait for the young master, I need to check if what my sources say hold true."

***********Lancer******************************************************************

"Masato, forgive my intrusion, but I believe there is a fight going on very near us."

"Lancer…are you sure?" Masato asks

"Yes, I feel the presence of a very strong servant, and if I'm not mistaken…Shirou's the one fighting it."

"Can you defeat him…?"

"I'm not certain, but if we don't act now, I fear Shirou will.."

"I understand…let's go."

"Masato, it would be wise , if you weren't to come with me, I might lose concentration if I see you hurt."

"But—"

"It's okay Masato, I'll come back..I promise."

It's the only way to keep him safe, for if I were to die..at least he'll be safe.

I followed the traces of mana, to an abandoned road..

"Shirou, what happened!?"

I couldn't bare the sight, the body of Shirou lying there, bloody and in disarray.

"Where are you? I know you're here."

"No need to be so agitated Lancer, he's not dead…yet."

"Show yourself!"

"I'd love to, but sadly, that'll leave me unprotected now would it, so if you don't mind, my servant will be the one to speak with you."

At that moment, a masculine servant came out of the shadows, wielding a shield and a sword.

"So, if I defeat this brute, I'm free to kill you..is that it?"

"Sure, that is, if you could beat him."

"Fine by me!"

I quickly lunged forward, giving him a barrage of strikes from my spear, which were all deflected by his shield.

"Ha, you can't even touch my servant, let alone hurt it."

"I was just warming up!"

I continued my attack, going from all directions, I tried hitting from above, below, and even head on, all of which were to no avail.

"Are you done now? Berserker, finish this fool!"

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*Clang*_

My spear against his sword, it was a battle of sheer strength, which I was quickly losing.

"I knew it, there's no way you could be him, Berserker, drive him to the ground!"

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*Snap*Slash*_

At that moment, my spear broke, and the sword then struck my body with its sharp edge..I could feel it passing through every vein that it slashed. I fell down with a hard thud, and before I knew it, I saw the master of this behemoth, a girl, a young fragile girl..

"So..You're the one.."

"Oh, you mean me, sorry, but this is not my true form, don't worry about it too much, you won't live to get to see my true self anyway."

He's right, I'm going to die, I'm sorry…Masato.

"Hey!! Don't you dare give up!! Stand up! Odin!!!"

Huh, that's Rin, who is she screaming at…me, am I…Odin..

***********Flashback*************************************************************

"All Hail Odin!! All Hail Odin!! All Hail Odin!!"

"The king of Asgard!!!"

'These people are…chanting a name..Odin..am I that person'

"All Hail Odin!! All Hail Odin!! All Hail Odin!!"

'I am…Odin, King…of Asgard'

***********Rin******************************************************************

Darn, I hope I'm not too late..

"Odin!, get up!"

"He can't be…Odin" said a voice I had never heard before.

"You…Berserker..this, will be…your final resting place!" said Lancer

At that time, white wisps came out of his broken spear. The wisps then materialized a new spear for him to use. He stood up and held the spear aloft.

"That must be Gungnir, the holy spear!"

He then thrust the ground with his spear, creating huge cracks on the road.

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

"This is as close to Asgard as you'll get…Achilles!"

"Hmph, so you knew who he was? I'm impressed." Said the voice again

As Lancer said those words, bluish-white flames burst from the cracks, the fire spread to where the cracks ended up, the road was engulfed by its intense heat, even Berserker couldn't move.

"This is the end!"

"Gungnir!!"

Lancer threw his spear with great might. As the spear passed through the flames, it was then engulfed and took the form of a flying creature. The spear that never misses its mark, unless manipulated by Odin himself.

I was so hyped up to notice that the girl stood right in front of the oncoming spear.

"Hey, girl, whoever you are, get out of there!!"

"Lancer, stop!!!"

A voice came, approaching from the other side of the road.

"Masato!"

"Don't kill her!! She's my sister!!"

I couldn't hear what he said, I was too far away, but I guess Lancer heard him..

At that moment, one of the reiju spells vanished.

"Yes, Master"

Lancer then moved his right arm to motion the spear away from the girl.

_*Boom*Crack* _

The spear created a massive crater on the side of the road, there was burning debris around the gaping hole, it was like a missile, being dropped by a military plane…Amazing.

"Hahaha, such power by the great Odin, very well, we shall retreat for now…Oh, and if you want this body back, you'll have to kill me, the real me"

Then, they vanished.

"Wait, what about my sister!" yelled Masato

"If you want your sister, you best kill that beast first." Said a familiar voice.

"You, Rolf, don't try to act nice, we already know your with them."

Rolf stood on top of an electrical post, probably watching the whole fight.

"Hmph, I'm disappointed that you think I'd work for those people, I might be a killer, but I still have my honor, never will I stoop to such level."

"Look kid, right now, you're useless, but if you hone your skills, you might be able to beat Berserker."

"Beat…Berserker?"

"It's time you fought, Ha-, giving advice to the enemy, what am I doing?"

He then disappeared

"Don't listen to what he said Masato."

"Lancer, please carry Shirou and we'll—"

"No…I..want to fight."

"What are you saying, you're just a kid, you'll get killed if you fight."

"I don't care, I'm tired of always having to rely on you and Shirou, and causing so much pain and trouble for you..It's time I took the burden, I want to fight."

"Very well, but first, we should take Shirou home, I'll nurse him there."

**************************************************************************************

**Leap: Now, Lancer has two noble phantasms, and it's my job to differentiate them:**

**Einherjar: An anti-unit noble phantasm that pierces/breaks through any armor. In reality, Einherjars are souls called by the valkyries to aid them in the war against the Vanir.**

**Gungnir: A noble phantasm that involves generating enough mana to engulf the spear with it, dealing immense damage, it also never misses its target, unless Lancer wants to. In reality, Gungnir really is Odin's spear, which also never misses its mark.**

**Leap: There you go, also Berserker's identity is revealed, him being, Achilles!!**

**Stay tuned^^ **


	8. Crossroads

Chapter 8 – Crossroads

"_No…I..want to fight."_

"_What are you saying, you're just a kid, you'll get killed if you fight."_

"_I don't care, I'm tired of always having to rely on you and Shirou, and causing so much pain and trouble for you..It's time I took the burden, I want to fight."_

"_Very well, but first, we should take Shirou home, I'll nurse him there."_

***********Shirou********************************************************************

"!!"

I woke up in a cold sweat, my body instantly ached as I felt more and more conscious. I remember fighting, and losing to Berserker, I don't seem remember anything else after that. I must've blacked out. As I recover my thoughts, I hadn't noticed that Rin was sitting in a corner, watching me.

"You know, it's customary for people to speak once they wake up." Said Rin, I couldn't tell if she was angry or worried, of course, I didn't ask.

"O-Oh, sorry about that."

"Same as always Shirou, but please, next time, try to be more careful, you don't have Avalon in you anymore, so your wounds won't heal as fast."

"Alright, I'll be more careful. Thanks Rin."

"Yeah, yeah. No big deal."

"So, uhmm, what happened last night?" I ask, I was kind of curious as to what happened to Berserker, and that girl.

"Well, Odin came, and I guess he faced Berserker head on—"

"W-Wait, Odin?"

"Odin..is Lancer's true identity."

"Well, I guess it kinda makes sense…"

"Yeah, I figured it out in the library, anyway, when I came to the scene, Odin was about to give up, but when I yelled out his name, I guess he found out as well, which gave him a fighting chance. He was about to unleash his noble phantasm when Masato interrupted for some reason. I thought it was because of that girl…the master of Berserker."

"That reminds me, that girl..I think she's being controlled."

"Controlled? By who?"

"I don't know, but..I have a feeling, it's a Caster class servant."

"A Caster…Wait, so why go to the trouble of controlling someone when he himself could summon a servant? "

"I don't know.."

"*sigh* Darn it, it's like they're teaming up, or something."

"If they only knew what the grail could do…"

I remembered the tragedy that would have happened, if Saber hadn't destroyed the grail…When will this senseless killing end? Why are all these innocent people involved? Is peace a high price to pay for all of this?...All of those questions..none of them answered so far..

"Well, at least we know more about who's the master of whom, right?"

"That reminds me, that girl.."

"What about her?"

"She's…Masato's sister."

"What!?"

***********Masato********************************************************************

"Masato.."

"Yeah, Lancer?"

"My apologies for what happened last night, I didn't know she was your sister…I could have—"

"It's okay Lancer, it's not your fault, besides, if there's anyone to blame, it's that person controlling my sister.."

"By the way, Masato..you said something about fighting, are you truly serious about such actions?"

"Of course.."

"As your servant, I have no right to object to your opinion, but, to put you in harm's way is something I cannot do."

"Lancer…I'll be fine, you'll have to trust me on that, because, I'm not changing my mind."

"I understand."

"So…Lancer, you're Odin, right?"

"Well, yes, why do you ask?"

"No reason, I'm just curious though, Rin said that servants have a desire they want fulfilled by the holy grail…what could an all-powerful god want from the grail that he doesn't already have?"

"My memories are still unstable, so, I still can't remember my true purpose in this world.."

"Is that so…"

"Then…what is your desire, Masato?"

"Well, to tell you the truth, I don't really know…when I summoned you, I just thought about my family.."

"Your sister.."

"Yeah.."

"Masato, might I ask, what is the name of your sister?"

"Sure, it's Hikari."

Come to think of it, only Lancer knows my sister's name, I hadn't had a chance to talk to anyone about her, seeing as we're busy planning on how to defeat the next servant..

"Alright guys..Meeting Time"

***********Rin***********************************************************************

After hearing what Shirou had to say, I wanted to plan out our next move, so we won't be too surprised, once another attack comes by..

"Okay, here's what we know so far; we already know the identity of two servants, the Saber class Rolf, and the Berserker class Achilles; we also know that the master of Berserker, is being used as a tool by a Caster class servant; and there are at least four other servants out there."

"W-Wait… _at least_? I thought there were only seven servants?" Masato asks

"Well, in the case of the last war, there were eight servants."

"So..there's a possibility of an extra servant in this war?"

"Most likely, yes."

"Alright, here's what we need to do; Shirou, you need to practice your tracing ability with Masato, because, quite frankly, your tracing sucks right about now—"

"Wait a second, my tracing sucks?"

"Well, let's see, you lost to the Caster servant, Rolf and recently, to Achilles. In the last war you cut off the arm of Heracles, now you can't even touch a second rate version of him."

"Alright already, I'll practice with Masato."

"Good, Odin, you'll need to practice fighting conservatively, that being to try and fight without using your noble phantasms."

"Alright."

"Okay then, training starts now, meeting adjourned."

"Hey Rin"

"What is it Shirou?"

" Where's Ilya, Sakura and Ms. F, I didn't notice them arrive or leave."

"Well, Ms. F wanted to take Ilya and Sakura to the local fair in park today, they'll be out until sunset, so we got a lot of time to work, so, let's get started shall we."

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

I took Masato to the storehouse where I usually practice my tracing, the place hasn't changed much since the last time I went in there, which was about 2 years ago.

"So Shirou, are you gonna teach me how to materialize cool weapons like you do?"

"Well, not right off the bat, first, it would be better for you to learn reinforcement."

"Reinforcement?...what's that?"

"Hmm, here."

I handed him a metal pipe

"Okay, what do I do with this?"

"Alright, focus, close your eyes, and try to analyze the pipe and what it's made of."

"Okay.."

***********Masato********************************************************************

Shirou instructed me to analyze the pipe, but I really didn't know how..

"Focus, right?"

"Yeah, you can do it Masato."

"Focus.."

At that moment, I felt as if as though I were connected somehow with that pipe, I could feel what the pipe was made of, what hold's it together and what it looks like on the inside…it was..amazing

"…Cool."

"Alright, what is the pipe made of?"

"…Aluminum."

"Excellent, now, you can bend aluminum, right? Reinforce it so that it wouldn't bend."

"How do I do that?"

"Think of a way on how to do it."

I focused harder, I kept thinking of a way on how to toughen up an aluminum pipe.

"Focus.."

"Wait a minute, I..I think I got it."

I reinforced the layers of aluminum in the pipe, making it thicker, and hopefully, less bendable.

"Okay, let's see what you came up with."

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

Masato handed me his finished product.

"Well, let's see if it'll bend or not."

I tried bending, and as I expected, it was as hard as steel, this kid…has skill.

"Great job Masato, you did it, you reinforced the pipe."

"Cool, I really did it?."

"Haha, yeah, you really did."

I could see he was very happy, he should be, to pull off reinforcement in one try is incredible..

"Okay Shirou, your turn..show me your tracing."

"My tracing?"

"C'mon."

"Alright, alright."

"You see, I have my own kind of tracing, which I divide into six steps."

"Six..steps?"

"Yeah, you'll see, I'll trace Kansho and Bakuya."

"Kansho and Bakuya?"

"The black and white twin swords that I use, remember?"

"Oh yeah.."

"Okay, here we go."

"Trace..on"

"First step…knowing the idea behind the creation"

In my case, it was to create the strongest weapon in a certain given situation

"Second step…define the basic structure"

Kansho and Bakuya, two halves of the same whole..like Yin and Yang

"Third step…duplicate material needed for construction"

"Fourth step…Imitate production techniques"

"Fifth step…share growing experiences"

I could feel the swords forming in my hands, I could make it faster if I wanted to, but I wanted Masato to see firsthand, on how to trace weapons.

"Final step…reenact accumulated years"

As I performed the sixth step, Kansho and Bakuya materialized in my hands, for some reaon, they feel…stronger

"…Amazing."

"Haha, it's not that amazing, you could probably do it, with some practice."

"I see you guys are having fun with your training." Rin's voice instantly filled the room.

***********Rin***********************************************************************

The way I see it, I made the right choice of making these guys train, if I didn't, they'd probably be laying around doing nothing.

"Oh, Hey Rin."

"So, Masato, what have you learned so far."

"Reinforcement."

"Good, at least you learned it quicker than Shirou."

"W-What, I wasn't that slow back then!"

"Yeah you were! Had you forgotten how many lamps you owe me?"

"That's just uncalled for, you know that?"

"Hey, guys chill out."

_*clang* _

We were all startled when we heard, what seemed to be, a fight.

***********Lancer********************************************************************

"How dare you, coming here again, what do you want!?"

_*clang*_

"Lancer, what's going on we heard—" yelled Rin, as she came running out of the storehouse

"Rolf!!"

"I found this scoundrel loitering around in the trees, probably waiting for a chance to strike."

_*clang*slash*_

"You're gravely mistaken, I have come here…on a request."

He then kneeled in front of all of us.

"They have my master.."

"And why in the hell should we help you, you tried to kill us back then!" said Rin

"I know, you will never forgive me, but, I cannot defeat him alone."

"That's your problem."

"Wait..They also have…"

"What, what's going to make us believe you?"

"…your friends"

*****************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it, Rolf wants to team up with Lancer…in hopes to defeat another servant perhaps^^ **

**Stay tuned^^**


	9. Sanity Void part 1

Chapter 9 – Sanity Void part 1

"_I know, you will never forgive me, but, I cannot defeat him alone."_

"_That's your problem."_

"_Wait..They also have…"_

"_What, what's going to make us believe you?"_

"…_your friends"_

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

"Wait a second..our friends? You don't mean--"

"Yes, the three girls in your household." Says Rolf, still kneeling down in front of us.

"How do you know about them?" Rin asks

"I…have been observing you for a while."

"Aha, I knew it." Says Rin as she maintains her stare on Rolf

"Alright, alright. It doesn't matter now, what matters is who's holding them captive and where are they."

Oh no, Sakura, Ilya and Ms. F are in trouble..but, why them?

"Okay, Rolf. So tell me, who is this guy who took your master and our friends?" asks Rin

"It was…a Rider class servant…" said Rolf, as he began to stand up

"Rider class…where is he?"

"In the park, where… they hold some sort of festival."

"The fair!"

"Probably..let's go everyone." Says Rin, as we hurriedly ran towards the city park.

The fair was a gathering of women, I think, which is why Rolf wasn't with his servant when they captured her. The park was only a few blocks away from my house, so we didn't have trouble looking for it.

"So…where are they?" Masato asks

"I could've sworn they were here a minute ago…"

"They couldn't have just vanished in thin air, right?"

"Wait…I..sense something. It's..coming from the forest nearby."

"I feel it too." Says Lancer. "I believe, there is a great force surrounding that forrest."

"We better get moving, before it gets dark." Says Rin

"Alright."

We hiked through the forest, until we found a clearing, where a man with a top hat came to greet us.

"More guests? How delightful." Said the man, along with his hat, he wore a black tuxedo and black pants, with white gloves.

"Where are they!?" I couldn't help but scream at this guy, taking innocent people, and using servants for that purpose

"No need to be so excited my good man, you'll get to see them soon, but first, I must introduce myself…I'm Maxwell Edger, pleased to meet you."

"Maxwell Edger..."

"Oh, you're not going to introduce yourselves? So excited to die I see…Very well, Rider, come."

At that moment, Rider appeared behind Maxwell. The servant wore a brimmed hat, and a western motif as his upper and lower body suggests.

"This..cowboy is your servant?" says Rin, as she snickers at the thought

"Mock me while you can, dear mistress, for you shall be added to my collection." Says Rider

"Enough chit-chat, let's..begin!" said Maxwell

Rolf and Lancer fought Rider, and the rest of us fought Maxwell..

***********Rin***********************************************************************

This guy, I sense a large amount of prana in him.

"Shirou, trace. Masato, find something to reinforce."

Let's see if he's as powerful as I think he is..I'll use Gand

"Get ready Maxwell"

I shot my Gand spell with full force, let's see how he'll handle that

"Honestly, do you really think that thing would kill me." Said Maxwell

He then pulled a card from his sleeve and used it to block my spell

"A…card?"

"Yes, a card madam. Now, I believe it is my turn.."

_*slash*swoosh*_

"Take cover!"

At an instant, a flurry of cards flew from his sleeves, and darted towards us, with great speed. We hid behind a large tree to avoid the cards. They've probably been reinforced or traced for that matter, and used prana to attack us…this guy's no joke.

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

If we keep hiding like this, we'll never beat him

"Okay, Masato, Rin, I'll need you guys to cover me, I'm gonna try and get near him."

"Alright.." says Rin

"Wait, how can I cover you, I don't have a weapon."

"Oh..right, wait a sec."

"Trace…on"

I traced a bow and a few arrows. Masato knows a little bit of archery, thanks to me and Sakura, so, I guess he'll be fine.

"You guys ready?"

"Yeah." They say both

"Okay, here goes."

I quickly sprawled out behind the tree, and charged at Maxwell.

"Trace on!!!"

I then traced Kansho and Bakuya, it seemed like the ideal weapon at that time

"Taking me head on? I give you points for bravery…and also stupidity at that." Said Maxwell, as he prepared to take my hit

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*clang*spark*_

"What!?"

He parried my swords..with cards, darn, I'll need to think this through.

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

"This is the end Rider, tell me, where are they!?"

"Tsk, tsk. And miss a chance to fight such honorable knights, nonsense."

Rider then pulled out a rapier from the scabbard at his waist.

"Shall I go first?..Me? Are you sure? … Very well."

"Are you insane!? We didn't answer any of your questions." Said Rolf, he's starting to get intimated, not good.

"_En garde'" _said Rider as he leaped in for the first attack

_*clang*_

Rider and Rolf locked swords with each other. In retrospect, Rolf is stronger than a Rider class, but what he lacks is speed, which a Rider class boasts. We may be advantageous in our number, but this servant, I fear he has a lot more than what meets the eye.

_*slash*spark*_

"Oh, so close my friend…once more shall we?"

"Rolf, calm down, we need to work together on this."

"Shut up! I can take this guy."

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaa."

"Rolf, don't—"

"Charging at me? Okay then…Dulcinea!!"

_*slash*woosh*_

At that moment, I thought he really did hit Rider, but then...what did his noble phantasm do?

"See, I told you I'd hit—"

"Did you mean me?"

HE appeared right behind him..the real Rider..so I guess, the one Rolf just attacked is..

"What!? How did you—"

"Just a magic trick that I know, my simple friend."

I couldn't help but stare. That must be his noble phantasm…Dulcinea, otherwise known as..the illusion.

"Sorry to have tricked you my friend, but, that's just how it is."

*slash*

"Graaaaaaaaaaaa"

Amazing…He cut through Rolf's armor!..Last time I had to use Einherjar to do that

"Rolf! Darn it!"

"I guess you are up my quiet friend, as a sign of respect, you may have the first strike."

"Fine by me!!"

I charged at him with my spear, and planned to wait until he evades..

"Not that attack again…*sigh* "

Ha. He used it again, he'll probably appear…right behind me!

"Gotcha.."

I then changed my pace and turned around…

"Huh!?"

"Dear me, were you expecting me to appear behind you" *chuckles*

*slash*

"Ughhh."

Darn, he got me..luckily I was fast enough to evade a fatal strike

"You guys aren't that good at this, are you?"

"Shut up, I'm not beaten yet.."

If things come to worse, I'd probably have to use my noble phantasm..but, somehow, I feel like I _can't_ use my noble phantasm.

"Suit yourself."

"Haaaa"

*clang*

He charged at me with his sword, I blocked it with my spear and tried to counter attack, but he then vanished.

*yawn* "I guess I'll have to finish you guys, sorry 'bout that,"

"You…won't kill…me!!"

Rolf was beginning to stir, maybe we do have a chance..

"Rolf, we'll need to work together this time..you charge first, I'll back you up."

"Sounds good.."

"If you're done whispering, might I suggest we get started?"

"Rolf…now!"

"Get ready..Rider!!"

"Don't you ever get tired of charging in to people…Dulcinea!"

"Right on cue..he's all yours Lancer."

He used it again, now, I'll just have to wait for him to show up….there!

"Grrr—Hraaaaaaaaa"

I threw my spear in his direction…there's no way it won't hit..

"Sorry my little armored friend, but your luck ran—"

_*slash*rip*_

"Aaaaah"

"We got him…now what."

"Brace ourselves…I have a feeling he isn't going to be that aloof anymore."

He fell down with a hard thud, but, he quickly stood up. This time, his prana is going haywire, I could feel it pulsating in the area with each heartbeat…what's he planning?

"And I was expecting my clothes won't get dirty.."

"Be careful Rolf."

"Yeah"

"I thought we could be nice friends, and you guys would just let me kill you..but no, you had to fight back…very well, I'll show you where you people belong…"

He's planning something big, his prana is getting stronger…is this going to be..his true power? He pointed his sword to the sky, and almost instantly, the sky was slowly...disappearing

"Prepare yourselves my friends…"

The place was then enveloped by pitch darkness, we could only see ourselves and the ground beneath us…I could feel my power decreasing exponentially. Everything that used to be around us, the trees, the sky, has now faded..to nothingness…what..is this place

"Welcome…to Sanity Void!!!"

******************************************************************************************************

**Leap: A new rider and master pair appears**

** Rider: A western style of clothing, mostly in the late 1600's. He wields a rapier as his primary weapon. So far, he has used two noble phantasms; Dulcinea, or the support type illusion and Sanity Void, the anti-army field.**

** It's pretty obvious who he is now^^  
**

**Maxwell Edger: Dons the traditional magician look. He uses cards reinforced tremendously to fight Shirou Rin and Masato.**

**Stay tuned^^**


	10. Sanity Void part 2

Chapter 10 – Sanity Void part 2

_He's planning something big, his prana is getting stronger…is this going to be..his true power?_

"_Prepare yourselves my friends…"_

_The place was then enveloped by pitch darkness, we could only see ourselves and the ground beneath us…I could feel my power decreasing exponentially. Everything that used to be around us, the trees, the sky, has now faded..to nothingness…what..is this place_

"_Welcome…to Sanity Void!!!" _

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

"Hmm, it looks like my partner wants to finish things early…then, so shall I!"

Maxwell continued his attacks, cards here and there…we were left defenseless, until Rin thought of something..

"Why don't we split up, he can't possibly target us all at the same time, at least one of us can get a clear shot that way."

"Sounds good." Says Masato.

"Okay…go!"

We each then took different spots around the clearing, in hopes of getting at least one of our attacks to pass through

"Oh no, they've split up *sarcasm* Whatever shall I do?...This of course!!"

He then threw a whole deck of cards in the air, and they started to rain down on every inch of the clearing

"Aaaaaaaaah"

That was Rin!

"Ughhhhh"

Masato..

"Looks like you're the only one left my friend."

Shoot, Masato and Rin got hit…but I didn't, could he have done that on purpose?

"Come out already…You don't want to have me cut the tree apart now would you?"

I guess I have no choice…Kansho and Bakuya couldn't deal with his cards earlier…buy maybe..

"Trace..on!!"

"Hmm, tracing…this should be fun."

He then took off his hat, and pulled a sword out of it…This guy…who is he?

I decided to trace Caliburn again…I just hope my tracing ranks up to par with his, or my sword is done for..

"Maxwell…what are joining this war for? Why do you have to do this?"

I wanted to get into his head, make him lose focus

"Since you're about to die, I might as well tell you…Back in the days, I was a performer, at the stage of Las Vegas..I was the best magician people could ever hope to see..until better magic or should I say cheap special effects came into my stage. They threw me out like I was a piece of garbage…so I searched, for a magical ability, that no one has ever seen before…that was when I stumbled across, the arts of the magi…"

"You're doing this…for vengeance?" I ask

"Not just vengeance my boy, I want the grail's power…to show those ignorant fools they call magicians…I am the magician!!"

"It doesn't have to be this way…you can start over.."

"Ha! What do you know you? You haven't gone through my experiences…Why should I…Take advice from you!!"

_*clang* _

"You're wrong…"

"What?"

Our swords were locked to each other, none of us wants to give in to the other…It was my power..against his..

"You're wrong!!...I have gone through something worse than you.."

"And what could that be…"

"I'm the only one…that survived in my village!"

_*clang*_

"I was supposed to die..!"

_*clang*_

"But a man…Kiritsugu Emiya..saved me, at the cost of his own life!"

_*clang*_

"You don't know the meaning of pain! Losing everything you have, even your dignity, just because of what other people think!" Maxwell answers back

_*clang*_

We kept exchanging blows, I don't know how long my sword will hold, maybe he's thinking the same..

"I know the meaning of pain…but I got over it!"

_*clang*_

"How, may I ask!? How do you get over such a thing!?"

"…I'll tell you…when you give up!"

*_clang*slash*_

"Aaaah"

I got him…

"Now Masato!!"

Huh, is that Rin's voice

"Right"

"Clever boy, you actually broke my sword…then I'll just pull ano—"

An arrow from Masato and a Gand spell from Rin, found its mark on Maxwell's right shoulder

"Ughhhh…I see your still alive, Hmph, figures…I shouldn't have gone easy on you…fine…you win for today…as a reward..I'll tell you where they are…they're in another clearing not far from here…*panting* just follow the path towards east.."

"You know we could kill you right here and now right" says Rin, as she aims her finger on him, for another Gand spell.

"Don't be so arrogant milady, you may have won the battle, but the war is not yet over…we'll meet again."

He then snapped his fingers, and a puff of white smoke came from the place where he was standing…and without a moment's notice, he vanished.

"We did it Shirou!"

"Yeah..now let's find the women and get them out of here."

"Right"

We managed to beat Maxwell…I just hope it's the same fate in Lancer's case..

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

"My body…feels so heavy."

"I can feel my prana being drained.." says Rolf, as he seems to be experiencing as well, what seems to be the effects of this…void

"Hahaha, welcome my friends, to the place where I spent some of my years in loneliness."

So this is his other noble phantasm…Sanity Void..

" Well, I suggest we proceed with our fighting, no?"

"If you insist!!"

"Rolf! Wait!!"

_*slash*_

"Why don't you listen to your friend and wait…we'll be in here for quite a while." Said Rider, as he effectively evades Rolf's attack

*yawn* "Honestly, sword wielder…you do know how to take the fun out of a good fight.."

"What did you say?"

"It's time I finished you off…come my steed…Rocinante!!"

A horse then materialized behind Rider. The horse looks ordinary enough…like a horse from this lifetime, except a few armor attachments…I don't believe this creature will cause much damage.

"Rolf, be careful."

He wasn't responding…maybe he's preparing his noble phantasm as well..

"Heh. Is this the best you got…a horse. I'll show you what a noble phantasm looks like.."

I haven't seen Rolf's noble phantasm..but I sense his prana…and right now, if he continues his attack, I believe he'll black out. This place, I believe, limits the amount of prana you can use..

"Let's go Rocinante!!"

Rider began charging at Rolf with sword in hand..but, something didn't feel right..It's like, every time he gets closer, his power increases..so his strength relies on his speed this time…interesting

"My sword..guarded by twelve loyal men…imbuing their spirits in this very sword…"

I could feel the power pulsing from his sword…his noble phantasm..

"Now..release yourselves..my Ulfheonar!!"

Twelve wisp-like figures came out of Rolf's sword, and materialized into warriors, wielding spears and axes, and wearing the pelts of various creatures

*panting* "Now my Ulfheonar…attack the horse rider!!"

Ulfheonar…the berserk bodyguards, the noble phantasm of the Danish King..

"Oh, wonderful! More friends, Rocinante!...Kill them all!!"

"Hraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa." The united battle cry of the Ulfheonar

It was going to be a clash, twelve skilled warriors, against a servant who has not just intelligence, but skill to back it up..

_*clang*shing*slash*_

"Rolf, you're warriors are getting beaten…How come?"

"I don't know..usually they could kill people like him in a matter of minutes.."

"Do you mind if I answer that question?" says Rider, as he continues fighting the Ulfheonar

"You see, you're in my world, anything goes, as I say it…if I say you're Ulfheonar are weak..then they are weak."

"I don't believe him…this place..is only weakening us, he doesn't control, anything else.."

"So what's your plan smart guy. You've been quiet all along..surely you have some sort of plan."

As a matter of fact I do..but I'm not sure if it'll work..

"I have a plan…but you need to stall Rider for a while."

"*sigh* How long do you need?"

"Just enough to break through…whatever this place is"

"Are you sure about this?"

"No.."

"..Well, It's better than nothing..go, I'll buy you your time."

I was planning on using my noble phantasm to break out of here. I'll use Gungnir on any wall-like surface that I can find, that's probably going to lead outside. We cant' beat him here where he's at the peak of his power, and were reduced to weary warriors.

"Ulfheonar, battle cry!!"

"Hraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

"One at a time my friends…you'll all get to die."

Good, he's occupied…now, to find that wall. The place looked so..endless, but I doubt it, we must be in some sort of cube or dome..

"Come on…where is it…"

I kept extending my arms, and spreading my hands, just so I can get the slightest feel of a surface..

_*clang*_

"Is this…all you got!"

Rolf..hang in there, just a little longer..

"Come on…"

I could hear the screams of the fallen guards…one by one they were killed, and next would be Rolf, than me…I got to find it

"…There"

I felt a force, used as some sort of boundary…this must be the void's edge

"Alright…Gungnir!!"

I thrust my spear in the edge, the divine flame quickly spread throughout, what seemed to be, the walls of the void..I knew it..we were in a dome. The pitch darkness, was replaced by the bluish-white flames.

"What!? How dare you defile my lands with such acts, I shall kill you!!"

"Not so fast cowboy!! Have a taste of Northern Edge!!"

_*slash*_

"Aaaah, Rocinante, move!!"

Hmm, so he has another noble phantasm. The wound where Rocinante was cut, began spreading ice in his body, slowly enveloping in it in a coffin of ice.

"Grr-Raaaaaaaaa"

I was losing power fast..I don't know if I could hold Gungnir's attack mush longer..but I feel that the void is close to destruction as well…just a little more.

"I'd get off of that horse if I were you." Said Rolf, as he watches the ice spread and continues to reach him

"Grr, you'll pay for this..with your life!!"

He then leaped from his horse and engaged Rolf again

_*clang*_

"Lancer!..Hurry Up!!"

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*break*_

"You broke through it!! Grr-Haaaaaaaaaaa"

_*clang*slash*_

Rolf then regained his power, and quickly disarmed Rider

The place was beginning to look normal again..I could see the sky the trees..everything

"Rider. Enough."

It was the voice of Rider's master, walking slowly, towards him, while mending his, what appears to be, wounded shoulder

"…Master" says Rider, in a rather, defeated tone

"Don't worry, there will be another chance..this war is not over"

"Lancer!!, Rolf!!"

I could hear Masato's voice, coming from the opposite way. Along with him was Shirou and Rin, and a few other people I didn't recognize

_*thud*_

"Rolf!? Rolf, get up."

Rolf then collapsed instantly, probably because of that void..He used two noble phantasms, he's probably worn out.

"We shall retreat for now…Until next time, my humble audience"

Rider's master then snapped his fingers, and a gust of wind quickly approached us, making us all blink for one second, but at that time...they vanished.

"Guy sure knows how to disappear." Says Rin as she examines the area

"We better go, before these people start asking questions." Says Shirou

Rider…

I have a feeling, next time we meet…one of us will lose.

***************************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it, Shirou, Rin and Masato manage to defeat Maxwell. And Lancer and Rolf managed to escape the void, and most likely their deaths.**

** Rolf used his noble phantasms today, let's review shall we;**

**Ulfheonar: an anti-army noble phantasm that involves the summoning of the twelve guards said to have protected the sword, Skofnung. The warriors are fairly strong, and well skilled in hand to hand combat.**

**Northern Edge: Unleashes the freezing potential of Skofnung, releasing an icy aura from the sword's core, every wound/ slash made by Skofnung when NE is activated, will result in absolute zero.**

**Lancer's last statement makes you think if he'll do it...will he? We'll fin out soon**

**Stay tuned^^  
**


	11. A means to an end

Chapter 11 – A means to an end

"_Guy sure knows how to disappear." Says Rin as she examines the area_

"_We better go, before these people start asking questions." Says Shirou_

_Rider…_

_I have a feeling, next time we meet…one of us will lose._

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

The next morning, the people captured by Maxwell and his servant became quite normal again, the other day, they looked like they had all the energy in their bodies taken from them. Rolf's master was no exception, she was so weak, we let her stay in my house, at least until she regains her strength. Rolf, in the other hand suffered from lack of prana, due to using two noble phantasms in a row, so he's resting at the house as well. Masato and Lancer continued with the training Rin assigned them to do…as for me..

"Trace…on!"

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*slash*slash*slash* _

The sound of pieces of wood, falling to the ground was tiring enough already, but for me to do it all over again, is something else.

"One more time Shirou, you're nearing the condition you were last time, just a few more hits."

Rin wanted me to practice with my fighting as well, seeing as we were being man-handled by Maxwell, when the odds were in our favor.

"Haven't I done enough training already?"

"None sense, you keep slacking off, you're gonna be dead…Maxwell isn't the only magi in this war."

"Yeah, yeah..one more go."

"That's the spirit."

"By the way, how's Masato doing?"

"Better I guess, I told him to practice his projection next."

"What did you have him make?"

"A bow and arrow, it's the only weapon he knows how to use."

"And Lancer?"

"He's in the dojo, practicing his spear attacks, now enough questions, start training."

"Hey, wait a minute, what about you? Don't you have to train?"

"I already did, happy?"

"Fine."

I don't believe her, but after yesterday's fiasco, I doubt she'll start slacking off as well.

***********Rin********************************************************************

I wonder how that master is doing..

"Hey, are you alright in there.."

As I entered the room, I saw the master sitting in her bed. She wore a black skirt and a white blouse. She had straight black hair, and she wore glasses. She looks younger than how Shirou described her last time.

"I'm..fine..Thank you"

"I'm not the one you should be thanking..It's the soft-hearted Shirou Emiya you're looking for, he can't leave a person who's defenseless because he's the _hero _of justice.."

"Is that so.."

"What's your name then.."

"Oh..Lyra.."

"Lyra…so you're Rolf's master?"

"..Yes..Oh, might I know where he is?"

"He's outside by the trees, resting I guess."

"Figures..he always liked the trees.."

This woman..Lyra. She seems so nice, I can't believe she's the master of Rolf. And another thing..Rolf, as ruthless as he is in battle…he becomes quite soft when it comes to his master. Shirou said this girl knew him…I guess not

"You're welcome to stay as long as you like Lyra.."

"..Thank you."

I wonder…Does she really want to fight in this war?

I came back to the front yard to observe Shirou's training

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*slash*slash*_

"That's it..keep going"

"*panting* Hey, isn't Sakura coming today?"

"Oh yeah, she said she'd rest for a while, she wasn't feeling good after what happened yesterday.."

"Oh shoot! That means I'll have to make breakfast!"

He then dashed off into the kitchen.

I then decided to look at how Masato's doing with his projection. I went to the old storehouse and observed him.

"Come on…Focus.."

I could see he was concentrating very hard, I didn't want to startle him, so I kept quiet..

"*deep breath* Focus.."

Amazing..he's actually doing it. This kid's very determined…to get her sister back..and were gonna help him. Usually, Sakura would help him practice with his archery, but she appeared to be very weak this morning.

Ilya wasn't feeling very strong as well, she decided to stay in her room for a while.

The thought made me curious..Why are these people that Maxwell captured, are all feeling weak? Was this what Lancer and Rolf were talking about? Was this the power of the void?

I decided to ask Lancer about the void, so I made my way to the dojo

"Lancer? Are you here?" I ask as I open the door

"Yes, Rin, why do you ask?"

"Well, I need to talk to you about the void.."

"Oh..What do you want to know?"

"You see, the people we saved yesterday, are all feeling weak for some reason…I just wanted to ask..What does the void do, exactly?"

"Based from my encounter with it, the void seems to absorb or limit your energy, so that Rider is always at an advantage."

"Does Rider absorb the energy?"

"That I do not know"

So, the void can absorb energy…this is bad. Rider might be using the void to replenish his mana, that means..he'll go for a bigger mass of people

"Breakfast's ready! Huh? What are you guys doing here?" said Shirou as he enters the dojo

"*grumble* I'll explain later Shirou…I'm starving"

Breakfast wasn't the same without Sakura and Ms. F, I was also beginning to miss Ilya. Breakfast seemed to be so lively when they're around, but that doesn't mean this breakfast wasn't fun as well…because it was.

"Itadakimasu!!"

"I haven't formerly introduced myself..I'm Lyra"

"Nice to meet you Lyra" said Shirou, as he hands her, her plate.

Lancer began eating his food hastily, as always.

"Lancer, do you always it like that?" said Rolf, as he hesitates to pick up his bowl

"*speaks while mouth is full* You should try it..It's really delicious"

"You don't say.."

Rolf then tasted his bowl of rice…and seconds later, he was eating as fast as Lancer

"Rolf..*giggles* s-slow down.." says Lyra, as she appears to be embarrassed

"It's okay Lyra, Rolf's probably…hungry"

*giggles* "I guess he is"

It felt so peaceful. We made a new friend, we were getting along..until..

*slash*

Something flew from the window, and found its way in the center of the table, digging into the center. The food was scattered everywhere. I couldn't believe what the thing was..

"A…card?...could it be"

"..Maxwell"

Everyone was so surprised, they all stared at the card, thinking of what to do with it..

"I think something's written on it…Shirou, take a look."

"Yeah, you're right *pulls out card* It says "The city will experience its darkest night tonight, be prepared my audience…the show starts as the sun sets""

"The darkest night…what could he possibly mean by that?" asks Lyra

"He's..going to unleash the void…probably a big one.."

"This is bad…if we don't stop him in time..the city will be defenseless" says Masato

"But, we do not know of his whereabouts.." says Rolf

"He will probably be in a place of immense height…a tall structure perhaps?" says Lancer

"We'll need to check all of the skyscrapers in the city.."

"That's gonna take a long time..even if we split up."

"Not unless..we know exactly where he is" says Lyra

"Wait..you know where he is?"

"Not exactly, you said tallest structure right..well the tallest structure in Fuyuki is the Minami tower near the center of Fuyuki."

"Right..it almost overlooks every house in Fuyuki.."

"What do we do know..?" asks Shirou

"There's no point in going there now…we might as well wait until the sun sets..and hope that Lyra is right"

"Are we all going to fight him?" asks Lyra

"..No, you and Rolf are in no condition to fight..I'll stay with you, in case of an attack from someone else."

"That leaves me, Masato and Lancer" says Shirou

"..Yes, we're gonna be counting on you guys..so don't you come back unless you've defeated them, got it."

"..Yeah."

"Alright"

***********Masato********************************************************************

We waited until sunset..that's when we made our way towards Minami tower. I wasn't sure if I could fight Maxwell, Shirou said I should project a sword, in case Maxwell come after me..

"Are you ready Masato?" asks Shirou

"..Yeah"

"Good..just remember, when things get out of hand, you run and then I'll—"

"No more running…I'm..I'm gonna fight"

"..I was hoping you'd say that" says Shirou as we enter the tower, and slowly made our way to the top

Inside the elevator, I could feel my heart's going to burst any minute..I was scared..Maxwell already proved that he's dangerous enough…this might be my final moments right here and now

"It's okay Masato" says Shirou, as he places a hand on my shoulder, he probably felt my fear

"This is it.."

We reached the rooftop, and as the doors opened, sure enough, they were there..Maxwell and Rider, waiting for us..

"Ahh, my audience *clap* Hmm, it seems that the crowd has gotten smaller..Very well" says Maxwell

"..Where's my other friend?" says Rider as he appears to be looking for Rolf

"Just you, oh quiet one.."

"No reply, you people must be so eager for your demise…Shall we start?"

Me and Masato then moved as far away as possible from the two servants, and proceeded with our attack on Maxwell

"Masato..do you remember what I said earlier..?"

"Project a sword..got it."

"Well, forget it, I want you to project a bow and arrow, there's some material there….once you get a clear shot…take it"

"..Okay"

"So the first move is mine..Alright then!!" says Maxwell as he throws a dozen of cards in our direction

"Trace..on!!"

_*clang*clang* _

"Those butter knives again…you aren't making things easy for yourself!!"

_*clang*_

As I got closer, the fight turned into a sword fight, as he then pulled out his sword from his sleeve.

_*clang*_

Masato's probably began projecting a bow..all he needs is a clear shot

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

As soon as our masters left, we immediately began fighting. It was quite an exchange, hit after hit, miss after miss. It took a few minutes for him to start talking

"So…it's one on one..how delightful"

"This is the end Rider!!"

I continued my attack..I know his attack pattern…He'll be easy

_*clang*_

"Hmph, not using your noble phantasm…Don Quixote."

"Why would I, oh King of Asgard, when I can take you on just as I am now."

_*clang*_

His rapier nearly hit my shoulder, I countered his attack by thrusting my spear in his direction

"You're getting better at this" says Rider, as he evades my attack prepares to stab me

"Thanks..I've been training.."

_*clang*slash*_

I got him. I slashed him on his left arm, that should at least slow him down.

"I see you're getting slower.."

"Ahh, the only servant who could lay a finger on me, has done it again…Rocinante, come here!!"

He summoned his steed again, this time..it looks somewhat..stronger

"Since your my friend..I'll let you play with Rocinante for a while...go!!"

"What.."

_*neigh*clang*_

This is one angry horse...I better be careful..who knows what kind of power this steed has..

"I've grown bored with you Odin, so it's time I finished you…Rocinante, prepare for our strike!"

This is it..It's gonna be my spear against his horse…

"Wanting to end things soon?"

"Well, yes...the longer I fight with you..the less time I get to take human life force.."

"So it was you who was making the people weak!"

"That's a matter for another day, of course..you won't be around when that day comes...Go..Rocinante!!"

He then charged at me, his power was immense, his body was beginning to get covered in the wind's pressure, slowly turning him into a ghost-like figure..

"Charge!!!"

I prepare my spear..I know what to do

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

I ran towards the charging pair..this is it

"Einherjar!!!!!"

_*slash*clang*_

I didn't dare look back..I could feel the rapier's sting on my chest…I was waiting for the sound of him falling off..I guess he didn't. Did I…lose..? I was ready to fall down when..

*thud*

I turned around and saw him kneeling in pain..I managed to stab him on his side

"Finish me off, my friend..it's..how it is"

"I..can't do that"

I dropped my spear, to show him that I can't end his life, while he's defenseless..

"Such a soft hearted king you are..*pant*"

***********???***********************************************************************

"Do you have a clear shot?"

"..Yes Master"

"Take it!"

The man then pulled out a golden axe, and loaded it into the bow, the axe then turned into a golden thorn..and he fired it. The thorn than split into six, and continued making its way to its target

***********Lancer********************************************************************

"..You better do it...Lancer.."

"Is there another way?...I don't want to kill...to win this war.."

"My friend..It looks like someone has already decided…"

"What are you talking about..you don't have to die..for me to win right? "

"There's no other way..my friend.."

*stab*

"*gasp*..!?"

All of a sudden..six golden spikes impaled Rider on every side of his body…I just..stared at him..as he silently fell down..hearing his last words.."..Master"

He then started...disappear

I could only kneel down, and watch as his body fades away..

Is this...what all of us are going to do!? Are we...just a means to an end!?

************************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it...in the final clash of Rider and Lancer, Lancer won, but chose not to finish Rider..Instead someone else did the job for him..a new servant perhaps**

**Lancer begins to realize the idea of the war, and how the servants are just...a means to an end^^**

**I forgot to explain some other things as well**

**Rocinante: is Don Quixote's noble steed, and in this case, his third noble phantasm. He charges with Rocinante, with the power of wind at their side.**

**Who is this servant? We'll find out in the next one**

**Stay tuned^^  
**

************************************************************************************************


	12. The Puppets and the Strings

Chapter 12 – The Puppets and the Strings

_All of a sudden..six golden spikes impaled Rider on every side of his body…I just..stared at him..as he silently fell down..hearing his last words.."..Master"_

_He then started...disappear_

_I could only kneel down, and watch as his body fades away.._

_Is this...what all of us are going to do!? Are we...just a means to an end!?_

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

"Was that…Lancer!?" I ask

I saw a flash of bright light coming from the other side of the rooftop, but, Rider was nowhere to be seen..there was only Lancer..kneeling down

"Is it over..?" Masato asks

"No!..Nooooooooo!!" Maxwell realizes that his servant has lost…all of his cards starts burning into ashes.

"This is the end Maxwell. Your servant lost…you lost this war!"

"This..This can't be!..Rider!!!"

He then runs off to the staircase heading down…there was no use in chasing him, he has been defeated as it is..

We approached Lancer as he was still kneeling down..I could see that he dropped his spear for some reason

"Lancer…did you.." Masato asks, as he is in disbelief that Lancer…finished off Rider

"..No..I didn't Masato…my apologies" says Lancer, as he begins to stand up

"..Then, if you didn't…who did?"

"…I believe it was my servant"

A man suddenly appeared out of nowhere, wearing a black jacket and holding a book. Alongside him was a man wearing a black suit under a red robe covering most of his body. He also wore a bandana on his head.

"Who are you!?" said Lancer as he points his spear at the robed man.

"My, my, what are you angry about…Oh great king." Says the man with the book

"We only finished what you started..seeing as you weren't going to do it anyway."

"You didn't answer his question…who are you?" I ask

"My name…is Kenzaki Takate. And you must be the famous Shirou Emiya…the destroyer of the grail.."

***********Maxwell*******************************************************************

"Leaving so soon..Maxwell"

I froze…I'd know that voice anywhere…him

"..I-I didn't mean for it to happen..t-the servant was strong."

"Of course he's strong you fool! He's the king of Asgard…or so he was..You were a fool to challenge him!"

"I'm s-sorry my lord…p-please..spare me"

"*tsk*tsk*tsk* And I had such high hopes for you…but, this is the end for you…farewell."

"No, no please!! Noo…Aaaaaaaaaahh"

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

I was startled as I heard a scream coming from the lower levels of the building…could that be..Maxwell?

"Hmph..it looks like my boss took care of things by himself *chuckles* Hmm, and you must be the young magi boy…Masato Hanzo.."

"What's it to you.." says Masato

"Nothing really…but I would suggest that you tell your servant to stop pointing his spear at my servant…he doesn't like that.."

The servant then materialized a golden axe from his hand and pointed it at Lancer. I could see that they'd wanna fight the instant they were told to do so

"Archer..back down, we'll have our chance."

"So your servant is an Archer class.."

"Yes..and quite a superior one at that..of course, he'd still have a hard time against the almighty Odin, don't you think?"

"Lancer…settle down" says Masato

Lancer then did the same, and dematerialized his weapon, which I believe was a wise choice at that time…if he were to fight now, he'd probably run out of mana

"You said something about a boss…who is he?"

"Oh, he's someone the king already knows…but I doubt he remembers"

"I..already know?"

"Yes…And, you'll get to meet him…right now"

At that moment, a black smoke started rising from the ground, and from the smoke, a man wearing a hooded robe appeared

"You…the Caster I fought before!"

I remember what he looked like that night..it was the same servant…is he, the one they call…a boss?

"My lord…these are the people you've been looking for.."

"Yes, yes…the only flaws in my plan…standing right in front of me.."

"Who.."

"Save your questions my old friend…for you already know the answer.."

"I don't know you!!"

"I doubt that…think hard.."

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

This servant claims that I know him…I don't remember him..at all

"I told you I don't know you.."

"You know me Odin…remember..in Asgard, I was always a mischief back then.."

Mischief…why does that word seem so familiar to me

"Of course..the biggest mischief that I caused…was a little event we'd like to call…Ragnarok."

Ragnarok…

***********Flashback******************************************************************

"_My Lord..the Vanir!! They're invading our realm!!"_

"_What!?..How did they reach the relm!?"_

"_The Valkyries say that the god of mischief was behind it.."_

"_What!? He can't have!? He's not a traitor.."_

"_My Lord!? They've opened the gates of Asgard!!"_

"_This is the prophecy my good knight…this...is Ragnarok..and he has fulfilled it…all we could do now is fight..."_

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

"…Loki..is that you!?"

"..I told you you knew me…"

"How dare you show your face to me!!"

_*slash*_

What trickery is this…I was certain my spear cut through him, but it appears as though I've cut through only air..

"Hahaha, my dear king, did you really think I'd show my real form In front of you? This body you see before..is just an illusion."

"What is your goal in this war Loki!?"

"It's quite simple really…but of course, I won't tell you..you'll have to witness it firsthand."

"Loki…this has gone far enough, lives of innocent people are in danger!"

"Do you think I care!? Besides, some of those people _chose _to follow me, take for example this master here.."

He points to the master of Archer

"He willingly joined me in my goal..in exchange, I grant whatever desire he wants, after the war has passed..it was supposed to be the same for that arrogant magi..but he got a little over his head, and he got what he deserved..which reminds me.."

He then pulled out a man from the smoke..it was Rider's master…I suppose he killed him

"This body is of no use to me anymore, you can have him."

"So..you swindled masters to be part of your little game.."

"Not exactly…the young boy's sister was a different story.."

"My sister…where's my sister!?"

"Relax boy…she's not dead yet..I still need her. You see, the girl didn't have much of a desire, so it was a hard trying to make her join me, so I turned to my other plan…controlling her, as if she was my puppet!"

"…Damn you!"

"Hmph, do you think I'd be moved by your emotion towards my plan? If I didn't need the grail, I wouldn't even pursue this war…but sadly, the grail is the only way to make my plans..a reality."

"I will stop you..no matter what it takes!"

"Feel free to do so…you can team up with that obnoxious knight and his fool of a master…I thought she would be loyal to me until the end..but it turns out…she only wanted to protect the boy."

"My lord…it appears as though…another servant has been summoned" said the master

"Very well, observe them first…"

"Yes, my lord…Archer, let's go."

Archer and his servant then leaped to a building, then to another building, until they were out of the reach of my sight.

"I suggest you prepare yourself Odin…for the worst, is yet to come."

He then vanished in the smoke from where he appeared.

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

We called the local police and had them pick up Maxwell's body at the rooftop. All along, he's been working for Loki, just to get his wish fulfilled..I still couldn't believe that Caster was Loki..and he has servants working for him…this war is going to be the hardest ones yet..

We went back to the house and told Rin and Lyra about what happened

"So…Caster's identity is the god of mischief." Says Rin as she sips from her cup of tea

"..Yes." says Lancer

"And his allies consist of Berserker and Archer.." says Lyra

"At least we still have a fighting chance…I mean, at first we thought you and Rolf our enemies." Says Masato

"Don't get me wrong Masato..we're still fighting for the same thing, but, yes, I pretended to follow him, so I could learn more about his plans.

"..So you know what he's up to?" I ask

"Sadly no…he only told me what his orders are..nothing else."

"..Wait, so why did you attack Masato and me? Back then I mean."

"I only did that so you won't interfere..once I knew that the girl they took had a brother, and was also a magi, I set off and looked for him, ergo, you Masato.."

"..Why didn't you want anyone to interfere?" asks Rin

"Because..I don't want anyone else to die.."

"Okay, it's settled, no more asking about the past…so what do we know so far?"

"Hmm, let's see..Caster's identity, his allies and that the Archer servant killed Rider."

"Wait..so we have Rolf and Lancer..that makes six servants..that means.."

"…Assassin isn't summoned yet." Says Lyra

"That might not be true.." says Masato

"How come?"

"I overheard Kenzaki telling Caster that a new servant was summoned last night..that servant might be Assassin."

"I guess we should start looking tomorrow then.."

"…All this time.."

"..Lyra?"

"All this time..we were puppets in his little show.."

"Don't worry…we'll defeat him, just not now..there's a time for that fight, right now, none of us can stand up to him."

As I said that..I wasn't quite sure myself if we can beat him…if his henchmen are that powerful, what about him. I'm afraid..this show…has yet to begin.

**************************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it^^ Not much action in this chapter..more on filling in the confusing gaps the past chapters have made (sorry 'bout that) anyways, Caster's identity is revealed as Loki!! And he has Archer (who's identity you'll have to guess at the moment^^) as his ally**

**The first pair has fallen, who will be next, we'll see**

**stay tuned^^  
**


	13. The Forest's Shadow

Chapter 13 – The Forest's Shadow

"_..Lyra?"_

"_All this time..we were puppets in his little show.."_

"_Don't worry…we'll defeat him, just not now..there's a time for that fight, right now, none of us can stand up to him."_

_As I said that..I wasn't quite sure myself if we can beat him…if his henchmen are that powerful, what about him. I'm afraid..this show…has yet to begin. _

***********Masato********************************************************************

Rin and Shirou spent the rest of the day, looking for signs of the seventh servant, while the rest of us stayed at the house.

"Alright *panting*, One more go…Focus.."

I went to the storehouse to practice my projection. It was quite hard, because I can't really decide on a weapon to use, and I don't exactly know of the appearance of a lot of weapons.

"Masato? What are you doing here?"

I was startled as Lancer entered the room, he looks really different when he wears the uniform Shirou gave him…he seemed more…normal

"Oh..Lancer, I was just practicing my projection."

"I see. How's it going then?"

"..Not so good."

"How come?"

"Well, projection involves using your knowledge on weaponry and components..my mana then materializes the weapon, the way my thoughts remember it to be."

"Sounds simple enough.."

"You see…I'm not that familiar with weapons, so I don't have much knowledge in terms of weapons."

"Might I suggest…reading about weapons?"

"Hmm…I haven't tried that yet.."

"There are some books, I believe, in Shirou's room."

"..Why not."

We head inside the house. Upon entering, Ilya apparently noticed us..

"Where are you two going?"

"Oh, Uhmm…nowhere..just walking around the house..right Lancer?"

"O-Oh…y-yes Miss Ilya..we were just..walking around."

"Hmm..You're up to something…you were headed to Shirou's room, weren't you?"

"Alright…I just needed to look at his books about weapons and such.."

"Hmm..I won't tell Shirou…if you let me come as well."

"…Fine. But you've gotta help me."

"Yay!"

We entered Shirou's room, and started looking for the books

"Where did you say they were, Lancer?"

"I could have sworn they were under that bed..but I guess..he moved it?"

"Well…It's not in the closet."

"It's not in the drawers as well.."

"Where could it be Lancer?"

We were about to give up..until

"Hey, Masato…are these the books you were looking for?"

I came over to where Illa supposedly found the books…and there they were

"Nice one Illa"

"What are you going to do with those dusty and boring books Masato?"

"Let's just say…it's going to help my projection..a lot."

There was a whole lot of books stashed in one of Shirou's floorboards, maybe these are what he uses as a basis for his tracing.

"Masato..might I suggest we each take a book, and look for possible weapons for you."

"Alright..is that okay with you Illa?"

"Sure! There's nothing else to do around here anyway."

"Okay, let's get started."

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

Me and Rin went all around Fuyuki city to find the seventh servant. We figured, if we have another servant in our side, that'll give us a better a chance against Caster. So far, none of us have been able to sense the servant.

"How about now Shirou, do you feel anything?"

"Nope, still nothing."

"Darn, where could this servant be…we've checked everywhere.."

"Well…not everywhere."

"..Where?"

"..We haven't checked the forest yet."

"I guess it's possible…Alright, let's go."

Earlier, we ruled out the forest, because we thought no master would want to be there in the middle of the war, but seeing as there is no other choice, we then headed to the forest.

"So, what do you think this servant's class is?" I ask

"I'm not sure..probably an assassin, but there's a chance that it's not assassin either."

"What do you mean?"

"Who knows...the grail is getting quite unstable..."

"Right...."

The wars have been getting more and more frequent..last time it took ten years...now it was just only four years, Is the grail...getting stronger?

"Wait..I sense something"

We were nearing a clearing in the forest, somewhat similar to where Maxwell kept the ones he captured. I felt a servant nearby.

"I feel it too…probably in the clearing."

The clearing was wider than I expected, there was also a house on the far side. Could that be the seventh master's house?

"Rin..be careful."

We slowly approached the house. It was a make-shift house, made out of wood and leaves.

"Hey, is anyone in there?" I yell

"When.."

"Huh!?"

We were both startled when we heard a voice come from nowhere.

"When will you leave us alone!?"

"What are you talking about? We just got here!"

"Enough…Assassin, take care of them!"

"Yes, master"

At that moment, a servant appeared from the shadows. He wore a black suit that covered every part of his body. He also wore a white oni-mask, seemingly cracked at the middle, along with a straw hat, and a red scarf, running down up to his feet.

"Assassin.."

"My blade…shall finish you."

He then pulls out at a short katana from the scabbard at his waist. I could feel the power emanating from his sword.

"Trace..on"

Kansho and Bakuya…will defeat you

"Rin, cover me."

I then charged at Assassin. He didn't make a move towards me, instead he just prepared his sword..

_*clang* _

"I'm amazed..a magi such as yourself can stand up to me."

This guy is strong, I better be careful.

_*spark*boom*_

An explosion in front of me made me stagger..did it hit Assassin?

"Hmph..such cowardly acts will never scathe me."

The smoke clears from Rin's attack..and Assassin appears, standing still

"Darn, he's too fast.." says Rin

"We don't wanna fight you..we just want to talk to you!" I try to explain, as he prepares for another attack

"That's what you all say! Now you shall suffer for your lies!"

He then raised his sword, a weird energy pulsated from it.

"These lands will be your grave!...Zabaniya..Zan--tetsuken!!"

He then slashed the air in front of him, creating a shockwave, making its way to my direction.

_*clang*spark*_

"Aaargh"

The force was so powerful, I could hear the trees behind me being affected as well, as if a hurricane passed through the forest.

"Rin! Take cover!"

"Shirou!!"

*clang*

"Impressive..normally, any ordinary sword would be obliterated, and any ordinary human would be dead.."

After a few more minutes, the shockwave dispersed

"*panting* Now will you listen to me.."

The pressure from the shockwave caused my hands to bleed, I could feel my face being scratched as well, along with my legs. It was as if as though he himself came over and slashed me.

"Look..I'll drop my weapon…please..if you'll just listen to me."

"Why should we?…the last magi who came here nearly killed my master."

"We're not with those guys..we're here to help"

"..Enough…Assassin"

"Master!? But.."

"It's okay…any person who drops his weapon in the middle of a battle, must be either…stupid, or telling the truth."

"..Yes..Master"

A man then appeared from the house..He was old, wearing torn clothes and using a cane.

"Please..come in"

***********Masato********************************************************************

We must've went through a dozen books, none of them seemed to be suitable for me to use

"How about this one…Caladbolg?" said Ilya

"..I don't think a sword like that could help me…"

"Masato, how about this one..Hrunting, it says it's very light.."

"I don't know.."

"What are you looking for then?" asks Ilya, as she grows impatient

"I don't know! I just feel like these weapons..aren't what I'm supposed to use."

"Then..why not try creating your own weapon. You've looked through a hundred ones, thinking of the best one, shouldn't be that hard" says Lancer

"My own weapon..Yeah, I'll try that."

I think of every weapon I've seen so far..

"Alright..Here goes—"

_*knock*_

Lyra then came in the room, she appeared to be stressed for some reason

"Lyra? What's wrong?"

She then sat down in front of us, after which, Rolf came in as well

"You see, I sent Rolf out to scout and look for the seventh servant.."

"Did you find him?" asks Ilya

"..Yes"

"Then..that's good news right?"

"The servant engaged Shirou and RIn to a battle" says Rolf

"So..he's our enemy?"

"Not exactly…unless Shirou convinces them otherwise.."

"So..what's the problem?" asks Lancer

"Archer and his master..are headed that way as well" says Lyra

"What do we do now.."

"We head to the forest..and hopefully, we could get there in time."

"Then let's make haste..Ilya, you should stay..Sakura will come by later on..I think."

"..*sigh* Okay"

"We should get going"

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

We entered the house. It was bigger than you'd think, and the place was full of books and medicinal equipment. The old man gave me some bandages, while Rin took care of my wounds

"What are your names then?"

"Oh..I'm Shirou Emiya and this is.."

"I'm Rin Tohsaka"

"Ahh, the destroyer of the grail..and this generation's magi of the Tohsaka family, It's a pleasure to meet you..I'm Hidei Kurenai."

"Look, Mr. Kurenai.."

"Call me Hidei..respect doesn't matter to me.."

"Hidei..we need your help"

"*chuckles* My help…what do you need an old magi like me for..?"

"We need you..to fight with us..against Caster and his servants"

"Fight..against Caster? I was nearly dead when he first showed up. How do you expect me to fight against a servant who killed his own master.."

"He killed his own master!?"

"..Yes"

"And..You saw what happened?"

"Yes..I was scouting the servants to be summoned in this war..Caster was the first"

"The first servant?"

"Yes..right after he was summoned, he killed his master, and when he noticed me watching them..he tried to kill me as well.."

"How did you escape?"

"I didn't..He thought I was dead, and went on into the shadows…I made my way to this house, and treated myself here."

"So Caster was the first servant…What did he do then?"asks Rin

"Well, he manipulated which servant would be summoned…he gave the magi the items they could use to summon the servant.."

"So..the servants under him..were hand-picked by himself." I said

"..Exactly."

"Wait..did you plan on taking him on yourself?"

"Well..not exactly..I planned to wait, until one or two servants were left..then come out from the shadows and defeat the remaining servants.."

"But..that's not what happened.." says Rin

"Shortly after I summoned Assassin..An Archer class servant and his master came to my house, and tried to make a deal with me..My, and my servant's desire would be fulfilled, if we were to help Caster..of course I declined, and he left with a threat..The next time they see us..we'll be dead."

"Why didn't you help them?"

"I've seen what the holy grail could do..it brings destruction, every time it's summoned…You were one of the wiser magi, and chose to destroy the grail..I thought the evil use of the grail would stop at the death of Kirei Kotomine, but I guess I was wrong.."

"Kotomine!? You knew about him!?"

"Yes..I have observed the wars from afar..and I have seen what he has done with the grail..innocent lives were lost, just for the sake of his revenge..*sigh* That grail..must be destroyed"

"And that's what we're going to do..and we'll need your help"

"..I'll help you, but in return..my servant deals the final blow."

"Then it's settled" says Rin, as she begins to stand up

Suddenly, Assassin stood up as well, staring at the closed door

"What is it Assassin?"

"Master..it appears those two have come again"

"What!?"

"Hmph..they're planning on ending us..right here and now.."

We opened the door, and sure enough, they were there, they stood right in front of us

"Do you remember what I said to you, old man…I'll kill you now that I've seen you again..Archer, prepare!"

Archer than materialized his axe and pointed it at Assassin

"Assassin..prepare yourself as well"

*****************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it..Assassin is on our side!! On a side note, assassin will not have a TRUE IDENTITY..Assassins are summoned with concealed identities. I guess it's better their identities are concealed. The servants are complete (or are they?)*evil laugh* It's time for a role call**

**Servant - Master**

**Caster/Loki – no one  
Lancer/Odin – Masato Hanzo  
Saber/Rolf – Lyra  
Rider/Quixote – Maxwell Edger (dead)  
Archer – Kenzaki Takate  
Berserker/Achilles – Hikari Hanzo (Masato's sister, briefly introduced in chapter 8)  
Assassin – Hidei Kurenai**

**Also Assassin's noble phantasm, Zabaniya, is a noble phantasm that all assassins have. Its form however, is different depending on the asssassin summoned. Zantetsuken is this assassin's Zabaniya. Zantetsuken (lit. Iron cutting blade) is an anti unit noble phantasm, that produces an immense shockwave. This version is kinda weaker than his other noble phantasm…which will be demonstrated in the next chapters. The  
**

**Stay tuned^^ **


	14. Threeway battle

Chapter 14 – Three-way battle

_We opened the door, and sure enough, they were there, they stood right in front of us_

"_Do you remember what I said to you, old man…I'll kill you now that I've seen you again..Archer, prepare!"_

_Archer than materialized his axe and pointed it at Assassin_

"_Assassin..prepare yourself as well"_

***********Masato********************************************************************

According to Rolf, Shirou and Rin were at the nearby forest that time, it seems that they have found the seventh servant. We left the Illa at the house, and went on. We ran to the park, which was the closest place near the forest.

"They're not that far..I could sense the presence of servants nearby.."

"Well..let's go!"

_*shock*_

I backed away, as the edge of the forest seemed to be…blocked for some reason, like there was a force field around it.

"What's wrong Masato?" Lancer asks

"It's weird…there's something preventing me from entering the forest, like an invisible wall.."

"Invisible..wall" Says Lyra

She then approached the boundary and touched it

"This is bad…it's a magical boundary, someone must have set it, so that no one can get in.."

"..or out" I said, as I realize that this was all set up by someone…probably Caster

"What do we do now?" I ask

"There must be some sort of seal..or marking that keeps the barrier at bay."

"We better go look for it then before—"

_*thud*crash*_

Out of nowhere, something crashed in front of us, creating a crater at his landing..it took me a moment to realize who it was…

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

"Berserker!!"

The servant that nearly killed Shirou and Lancer back then…my sister's servant..

"Berserker huh..alright, Masato, you go look for that seal..we'll stall him..Rolf, come out!" says Lyra, as she prepares to battle Berserker.

"This servant..master, I've observed this one battle…he's no fool when it comes to a fight." Says Rolf as he prompts his sword in front of him

"Masato, you must go..we'll handle him" says Lancer, while he also prepares to attack

"..Alright"

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

This servant…Archer..he's dangerous, he shows great strength and no emotions whatsoever, he even killed his own comrade

"Haaaaaaa"

_*clang*_

They began to fight…Archers usually fight with a bow and arrow, this Archer however, shows great skill in handling himself with an axe. Assassins on the other hand, specialize on one hit blows, the longer the battle for them, the more troublesome it becomes for them.

_*clang*slash*_

"_Tch.._Darn it, he's almost as fast as I am.." says Assassin, regroups himself

"Hahaha, keep at it Archer..he might be fast, but he's no use when he's not in the shadows." Says Kenzaki, as he opens his book

"Archer..move your fight away, if you unleash your power, you might end up killing everyone in sight..which leaves me with no one to kill.."

Archer than moved away like his master said..they continued fighting near the edge of the clearing.

"Now..for you three…"

He began reading the book, I could see his mouth move, but no sound was coming out..was this a spell?

"..Perish!"

"Look out! Everyone!" says Rin as we all scatter to avoid the attack

_*zap*_

We managed to avoid it somehow…How could we fight this guy?

"*pant* Got any ideas Rin?" I ask as we got back together behind Hidei's house

"..No, we might have to fight him head on"

"That won't be necessary.." says Hidei

"Why?"

"The way I see it..he uses spells from that book…without it, he's useless"

"Alright, I'll try distract him..Rin, you ready your Gand spell, and shoot at his book..Hidei..you better hide here for a while."

"Ready..go!!"

We split up, in opposite directions, I took the side nearer to him so he'd attack me instead of Rin.

"Alright…trace, on!!"

I traced a regular short sword and began my attack

_*slash*_

"You're as good as they say Emiya…but, I'm still better!!"

_*zap*_

A bolt of energy nearly found it's mark at my right arm, luckily I managed to dodge it in time.

"Don't resist! You'll die even if you do!"

This is bad..but I gotta keep fighting…Rin, I'm counting on you..

***********Lyra***********************************************************************

Berserkers are supposed to be servants with an incredible amount of strength…and, this Berserker, according to Rin, is Achilles…but, there's three of us, we can still beat him.

"Rolf, Lancer, you guys take care of him up front, I'll back you up."

"Yes, Master"

"Alright"

My magic is still of an apprentice level..but I can still help

"Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" growled Berserker, as he engages the two

_*clang*slash*_

***********Rolf***********************************************************************

"Grr..this guy's as strong as the legend's say…maybe even more. Lancer, we'll attack him simultaneously…he might be a genius in battle, but that doesn't mean he can beat two servants."

"Right, Let's go."

I've watched this guy fight…in his last battle with Lancer, he was never even touched, no wound, not even a scratch.

"Haaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*clang*_

Heh, he fell into my trap..he locked swords with me..which means..

"Lancer..Now!!"

"Right!!"

We got him..no..wait—

"Darn..wha—"

_*slash*_

"Aaaaah"

"Rolf!!"

His sword sent me flying…I could hear the ground crack when I hit the ground..I don't know if I could stand up..

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

"No!! Rolf!"

He was hit pretty bad…I remember the feeling, if this keeps up..

"Darn it!!"

At that moment, two blue orbs came flying at Berserker, which was then blocked by his shield

"Raaaaaaaaaaa"

Oh no, he's coming after Lyra..

"Get away!!" yelled Lyra, as she used her magic again, which was to no avail

"Lyra, get out of the way!!"

I ran to her as fast as I could..I was fast enough to get in front of her, but I couldn't dodge his attack..

_*clang* _

"_Tsk…_Darn, this situation again…I already know I'm gonna lose to his strength.."

The pavement was about to give way…my knees could feel the weight and power of his sword.

"Lancer!!"

Wait..I just realized something…whenever he's open for an attack, his shield always comes in the way, surely he didn't know where I was going to strike earlier, and when Lyra attacked him, his shield instantly blocked it…is his shield, his true power?

"Aaaaah!"

Oh no..he's too strong..I can't keep this up

"_*pant*_ Hmph…it was kind of you…to let me rest…"

Rolf! What the heck is he doing, he should be getting away know

"The bitter frost…shall be your bane…"

He then leaped into the air, and slammed the ground with his sword..

"_*pant*_Northern…Edge!!"

At that moment, icicles came rising from the ground, spreading, eventually heading to Berserker..

"Hraaaaaaaa"

The icicles stabbed Berserker's legs, holding his feet in place, the frost spreading throughout his body

"Nice work Rolf."

"Thanks…now finish it!!"

"..Right"

I pointed my spear at him..

"This is the end.."

He's weakened…his defense is now penetrable..my spear will hit it's mark

"Haaaaaaaaa, Einherjar!!!"

_*clang* _

No..the shield…wait

_*crack*stab*_

"Hraaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah"

A loud growl escaped him, as my spear went through his shield and his arm..he was thrown backwards, causing the ice beneath him to be shattered…we have won this battle..

"Impressive…I guess Kings don't get their titles just by popular approval.."

Suddenly, a voice came from nowhere…the voice of Loki

"Hahahaha..don't worry, he'll be back, he just needs to rest.."

A black smoke then covered the weakened Berserker, and then..he disappeared

"Darn…it was Loki again.."

"_*pant*_ It's like..he know every move we make.." says Rolf

"Well..we better catch up with Masato, hopefully he managed to bring down the barrier

***********Masato********************************************************************

It took me a while to find the seal, but after a few minutes of searching, I found it at a tree outside of the forest, covered with vines.

"Okay..I need to be quick this time, my projections won't last long…"

I then looked at the seal one more time..and then I closed my eyes to concentrate..

"..Focus.."

I then projected a dagger and slashed the paper seal

"Alright…the seal's gone..so the barrier should be--"

_*gasp*_ What..just happened..

"Darn...my body feels a little heavy all of a sudden..."

What's happening...why do I feel so tired..

I could feel my body shifting...I was falling...

"Masato! Hey! Snap out of hit!"

"Wha-- Lyra!..What..What just happened?"

"That's what I was going to ask you?"

I don't really know what happened...I just projected a weapon..and then I..felt so weak..

"Master..the barrier seems to be gone" says Rolf

"Masato..are you feeling alright?"

I couldn't let them stop just for me...I got to be strong..that's all I could do now..if I project something again, and Lancer keeps using his noble phantasm..I might collapse right then and there..

"I-I'm fine...don't worry 'bout it...it's just the ehat..that's all"

"Masato...if you're not feeling well, we could just--"

"Look Lancer...I told you I'm fine..you've got to trust me"

There was nothing else I could do..I had to lie...who knows what kind of trouble Shirou and Rin are in now..sure they're more advanced sorcerers..but, they still need help..

"I..trust you"

"Alright.._*pant*_ let's go"

We moved on into the forest..I felt so disoriented all the way through, I guess this has something to do with my prana...I've been projecting for quite a while..and Lancer's been using his special attacks more often than none

"Wait..you guys defeated Berserker!?" I ask

"Was there any doubt, kid?"asked Rolf

"No..not at all" Rolf must've gotten hit hard..I could see his armor brutally dented..

"Lancer…let's do this"

"_*smirk*_ Yeah.."

***********Assassin*******************************************************************

This fight's been going on for a while…this is bad, if I can't finish him sooner..this will be the end of me

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*slash*_

"Hmph.."

Darn..he's been avoiding my attacks ever since the battle started, and he didn't even pull out a darn bow..what's with this Archer..fighting with an axe, of all things..

"Assassin…die!!"

_*clang*_

My only chance is my noble phantasm…Who knew I'd waste it on this guy..

"On the contrary my friend…"

I backed away…and readied myself for my noble phantasm

"It's you who's going to die.."

He then materialized bow, and transformed his axe into a golden spike…Looks like he's gonna fire that thing at me..it all depends on what's going to hit first now..

"..Zan..tesuken!!!"

"Parashu..rama"

A clash of noble phantasms…it all comes down to who has the stronger will now

*****************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it guys..a bunch of fights started and ended…Berserker, for the first time, got beat pretty bad^^ To quote Lancer.."** whenever he's open for an attack, his shield always comes in the way, surely he didn't know where I was going to strike earlier, and when Lyra attacked him, his shield instantly blocked it…is his shield, his true power?**" the truth is..it is his true power^^, which I will explain…now**

**Hephaestus Guard– is Berserker's noble phantasm..any frontal, I repeat that, frontal attack..will be instantly deflected..no matter how strong. HOWEVER if an attack, hits Berserker…(oh, say…from behind..most accurately..below^^) his shield loses its effect for a while. In reality, when Achilles gave his armor to his companion Patroclus. Patroclus was killed by Hector, and Achilles' armor was taken as spoils…Thetis, Achilles' mother, ask Hephaestus, the blacksmith god, to help Achilles, in the form of a shield.**

**Also, the noble phantasm of Archer..Parashurama, is the one that turns his axe into six golden spikes that home into the enemy..I will explain it further when I introduce who he is**

**Masato feels weak..how come? you ask...we'll soon find out  
**

**My updates might be slower (classes) but that doesn't mean I'll stop, so I hope you'll stay tuned^^ **


	15. The Exiled, and the Bound

Chapter 15 – The Exiled, and the Bound

**Sorry 'bout the late update guys, school took its toll on me, I haven't had much time to write, but I won't quit, I'll still update, and I hope you guys will keep reading^^**

**Anyways..here's chapter 15. This one is going to be a flashback chapter^^  
**

*****************************************************************************************

"_It's you who's going to die.."_

_He then materialized a bow, and transformed his axe into a golden spike…Looks like he's gonna fire that thing at me..it all depends on what's going to hit first now.._

"_..Zan..tesuken!!!"_

"_Parashu..rama"_

_A clash of noble phantasms…it all comes down to who has the stronger will now_

***********Assassin (flashback)**********************************************************

"_This is an outrage!! How dare you defile our laws!!"_

_Hmph..Laws they say, for me it's a set of stringed words that gives them power over everything. We, the Hassassin, are supposed to be a just organization…their laws restrict our freedom, they're no different from the hundreds who fell because of my blade. They've accused me of neglecting the laws, and sentenced me to trial…My arms were bound by chains, and were placed behind my back..I stood in the middle of the court..surrounded by my fellow men. _

"_I didn't do anything wrong!!"_

"_Let's see..first, you killed an innocent man—"_

"_That bastard was nowhere innocent than the rest of the fools we killed!"_

"_He hasn't done anything wrong, and yet you kill him!"_

"_He sold herbal medicine that turned out to be poison! He killed every man and woman in my home town!"_

"_That's their fault..and besides, you don't have a home town anymore. Ever since you joined us, you've surrendered everything that made you who you are…whoever you were doesn't exist anymore! Don't you care about how people would react if they think we kill innocent men!"_

"…"

_He uses the darn laws to hide his cowardice toward people with power…I'm ashamed to have ever served under this person..He cares for what people see in him..not the safety of the people  
_

"_Second…you showed acts of appreciation to a person outside of our organization..and you revealed your identity to her!"_

"…_I..loved her!"_

"Love!?..Did you hear that!? He loves a person!?"

"_Hahahahahahahahaha!!"_

_My fellow assassins all laughed at my expense. The laws stated that no emotions, other than what is necessary is to be shown…before I joined this group, I was an ordinary man, in an ordinary town. My life was great..I had a job, I was engaged..everything seemed to be going according to plan…until we were raided by cavaliers, and burned our houses down. They left no man alive…except me. The person I loved…made a deal with the knights..she'd surrender herself to them, in exchange..they would keep me alive. Of course..the lustful knights accepted the deal..and they left me in the rubble of everything that meant so much to me. At that time..I thought I wasn't going to make it..I wandered for days, eating what I see along the way..whether it was an animal passing by, or the grass growing at the edge of the curb. That was when the Hassassin found me…they promised me revenge on the knights, in return..I would be one of them. I accepted the terms..and I was trained in every aspect of the ways of the assassin. I rose through the ranks..until such time that I got my revenge. Their blood still marks the edge of my sword…It was at that time, that I found her again..I gave her a home to live in..and I'd visit her everyday..someone probably saw me…and told our leader_

"_You!? A man who slew even a corrupt, elderly man, shows emotions!?"_

"_Heh..you wouldn't know about it..no one ever loved you..that's why you killed your own family"_

_*slap*_

"_I don't need love…as long as I have control..I won't need such foolish things..and my so called family deserved it…they always cared for the weak, like you!"_

"_Heh..that's sweet of them.."_

"_Silence…Third, and the most offensive of your actions…you killed a fellow assassin!!"_

"…_It was the right thing to do!"_

_That assassin he speaks of is a traitor..I saw him plot something with the royal knights  
_

"_Fool!! What sort of thought was in your head..to think that killing your fellow man was the right thing to do!!"_

"_He was about to sell us out to the royal knights! He was a traitor!"_

"_Enough! Your deceitfulness ends here…What shall we do with this fool!?"_

_He yelled to the crowd…the whole thing was like some sort of entertainment to them, and as expected…they want blood._

"_Kill him!! Kill him!! Kill him!!"_

"_Very well!! This traitor's last day..shall be today!!"_

_*crack*_

"_Aaaaaaaaagh"_

_One of the guards hit my head with the hilt of his sword..the strike was so hard it cracked my mask..the pain forced me to kneel down_

"_Tsk tsk tsk…and to think, you were next in line to lead us.."_

"…_I would've been the best leader of this unjust group…I guess God wants this group to be just like you…a coward!"_

_He then pulled out my sword at the scabbard on my waist_

"_You shall die with your own blade…any last words?"_

"…_Rot in Hell!!"_

"_Kill him!! Kill him!! Kill him!!"_

_*stab*_

_He stuck the sword directly at my heart…I felt no pain..I knew I did the right thing…I died with honor, that's what's important…these fools will die with their honor stripped away from them._

"_.ood..bye..my..frie.."_

_His final sarcastic words sounded very weak to me…this..is the end._

***********Archer (flashback)***********************************************************

_I was transported from the golden pantheon of heroes..to a dark room..my guess is that I was summoned for the war…a voice told us that we were to be summoned in an epic war_

"…_Master?"_

_I look around as I saw no one inside the room but myself..where could the person who summoned me be,_

"_Looking for me?"_

_A man then appeared from the shadows…he held a book with his right hand. Is this person…my master?_

"_I am Kenzaki..I am your master"_

"_It's an honor to serve under you..master—"_

_I sensed another servant nearby..and this one's strong..I could feel his prana emanating everywhere_

"_Master..there's another servant in here..should I engage him?"_

"_I wouldn't do that if I were you…I still need you, why should I waste my time killing you know?"_

_The servant appeared right behind my master…he was cloaked man, I couldn't see much of what he looked like, black smoke came rising from his feet._

'_Master, look out!"_

"_It's alright Archer…he's with us"_

"_What is the meaning of this!?"_

_A servant…wanting to work together!? This is a war of the servants..why help one another_

"_Haha..Well..work together wasn't exactly my plan…I was going to use you..like a puppet"_

"_How did you—"_

"_I read your mind. And don't worry..you'll get to fight..soon_

"_Yes…it's soon alright…Haaa"_

_I quickly drew my bow and arrow, and launched a quick one at him..there's no way he'd escape"_

_*swish*_

"_Impressive..I knew I made a great choice choosing you as one of my puppets…Bhishma, but..I'm still more powerful"_

_*snap*_

_Darn..he caught my arrow..and then broke it in half…and how did he know my identity? Did he plan on summoning me the whole time?_

"_Now my puppet…obey me"_

"_Aaaa-ahhhhhhhh"_

_What is this…some sort of force is wrapping around my body..I feel numb..darn_

"_Now, now…it'll all be over soon.."_

_*cough*_

_The smoke then entered my mouth and my nostrils…it's spreading in my body..what's happening? He's…taking control of my body…I can't…hold on much longer_

_*thud*_

"_Now…rise Archer..and bow down to your future ruler"_

_My body's moving on its own now…I could only watch as I stand up..and bow down to him…this servant..he must not win..but how?_

***********Assassin*******************************************************************

My noble phantasm and his, met at its peak…the golden spikes, were battling my shockwave…the clash of power caused the trees to shake furiously..branches fell off, the birds scattering, even the trees themselves were beginning to give way.

"I promised myself I'd do what is right…I won't lose to you Archer!!"

***********Archer********************************************************************

I couldn't control myself…the words that came from my mouth wasn't even mine..and now I unleashed my greatest power..I fear..I'll continue to do this forever..if that servant wins this war..

"Die!! Die!! Die!!"

No! I've got to control myself…I've tried so many times..to no avail..Assassin…I beg of you…finish me..

My freedom lies with you..

*****************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it guys..the back story of Assassin, and how Archer, came to be the puppet of Caster. Also, I've revealed that Archer is Bhishma…he was summoned, not only be chance..because Caster influenced his summoning…using a medium that was connected to Archer. His noble phantasm is:**

**Parashurama (lit. Rama of the axe) Archer invokes the power of the slain warrior saint. He calls upon the axe of Parashurama and uses it as a projectile. The axe splits into six, pertaining to the fact that Parashurama had six arms. It is an anti unit NP that homes into its target, unless stopped by another force. When the latter happens, the spikes will try to force its way through the obstruction**

**Well, that's chapter 15 for ya…**

**My upsates WILL be slower, but rest assured I will UPDATE..you have my word**

**Stay tuned^^**


	16. Yet to come

Chapter 16 – Yet to come

_I couldn't control myself…the words that came from my mouth wasn't even mine..and now I unleashed my greatest power..I fear..I'll continue to do this forever..if that servant wins this war.._

"_Die!! Die!! Die!!"_

_No! I've got to control myself…I've tried so many times..to no avail..Assassin…I beg of you…finish me.._

_My freedom lies with you.._

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

"I could sense the presence of servants…they're near"

I could feel the energy scattering through the forest, the trees shook, and the birds flew away…their at their peak, it's only a matter of time until the battle ends for those servants

"_*pant*_ I don't know about this…maybe I should stay back for a while…my mana is still at a very low state, I used my noble phantasms in almost every fight…"

His words struck me for a second…I realized just then..that I have been using my noble phantasms simultaneously…why haven't I grown tired..

"Masato!!" yells Lyra, as she spots him lying on the ground, unconscious..

"What happened!?" I ask

"…He's depleted of mana"

Depleted..of mana. Could this be my doing?

"That's not possible…then that means I too should be feeling weak as well"

"Maybe..I don't know..Let's get him somewhere safe first.."

We headed to a huge tree, and let his body rest on it.

"How come Lancer's still fit to fight..and Masato's the one being tired..?" asks Rolf

"Well…he was inexperienced right..maybe something happened when he summoned you, maybe your connection with him is…damaged"

"Damaged?..How?"

"…Maybe your connection of mana, is just a one way flow…he gives you mana that you need..and he replenishes your mana, maybe subconsciously..until nothing was left of him…"

"How do we fix that connection?"

"Something's obviously keeping you at bay at this moment…which means you have some storage of mana inside you…that's what you need. You need to give Masato a portion of your mana…maybe that'll restore the connection.."

"How do I give him mana..?"

"..You need to enter his circuit."

"And you know how to do it?"

"Yes..and we have no time to waste, so…let's begin"

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

Kenzaki's too agile for Rin to get a good shot, plus he's a very skilled magi.

"What's the matter Emiya…tired?"

_*zap*_

Another bolt almost hit me on the head. I regained my footing and charged at him again with my swords

_*slash*_

As my swords came at his way, he easily dodged it, making a mockery of my fighting

"Hahaha…I can't believe you were the master that won the last war..Hmph..I guess that's the perks of having a servant dumb enough to fight alongside you."

"…Shut up!!"

_*swush*_

I threw my swords at him, which made Kenzaki lose his balance…I quickly traced another pair, and dashed towards him

"Don't you dare talk like that about Saber!!"

*_slash*_

"Aaaaagh."

I wounded his arm pretty bad..but he was still ready to fight

"Took you a while to actually hit me Emiya…I guess I struck a nerve back there..maybe…I should fini—"

_*blast*thwack*_

Kenzaki's book came flying through the air, due to Rin's Gand spell…The book came flying to the hands of Hidei

"Checkmate Kenzaki…give up"

"Hehe..Hahahahhahaha..I think you should take a closer look as to what you're holding old man.."

"What are you talki—"

Hidei then dropped the book to the ground..I then looked to see what he saw

"N-No way…a..novel!?"

"Yes..a very good one at that…although I should say..my spells don't come from there…good try though"

He…fooled us..Darn

"..My turn"

***********Assassin*******************************************************************

"Give up Archer!! This battle's going nowhere!"

We then dispersed or noble phantasms, and again, engaged in a melee battle.

_*clang*_

"Die!!"

He was stronger than the average archer in terms of hand-to-hand combat. He's also very elusive…aside from that Caster, maybe this servant can trump all of us if he wanted to

"Listen to me Archer…You don't have to do this!!"

"Why..should…I listen..to..you" grumbled Archer

"Because I know what it feels like…being bound by someone in control..Am I right?"

"Shut up!!..You don't know anything!!"

"But still…you're forced to do this..aren't you?"

"Shut up!!..Shut up!!"

He was losing it. He started thrashing around, holding his head as if it were in pain

"I could help you…but, you've got to fight it!"

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh"

He let off a powerful growl, and then he dropped to the ground, sprawled and defenseless

"…Archer?"

He then started to stand up. I prompt my sword in case he attacked..but he just stood there

"Help…me"

A voice came from him…a voice I've never heard before..it was different from his growls..it was, normal

"Caster…control _*grunt* _everyone….he's…planning something.."

"What is he planning!?"

"He…didn't tell….All I know is….if he succeeds…this world…is doomed.."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagh"

"Archer!!"

"You've..got…to stop…him"

He then dropped to the ground..this time he didn't move at all. He said Caster was planning something big…Archer is just his puppet in all this…I will save him

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

Lyra prepared the area for the transfer. She drew a magic circle on the ground beneath us. She then placed Masato in the middle.

"Okay..the next step involves you, Lancer. I've got to make you, somewhat tangible..for you to enter his circuit."

"I'm ready.."

"It will hurt…a lot"

"I don't care.."

"..Alright"

She then placed her hands on my chest. She started chanting some words I couldn't make out. I could feel the energy from her hands..and then..her hands went through me

"Aaagh"

"Just a little more.."

"She was doing something inside me..I could feel her hands moving around inside my chest"

"Alright…You're ready"

After she removed her hands, my body then started to disperse

"What's…happening?"

"Your entering spirit form…You couldn't do it yourself..so I triggered it inside you instead. We don't have time…stand over Masato"

"Okay"

She started chanting again, and my body started to enter Masato, as the circle grew brighter

"Remember..you've got to give part of your mana to him. Inside you're all alone..you won't have em to guide you."

"Alright"

As she finished her spells, my body was almost inside. The circle shined so bright, and before I knew it..I was inside. I came to very dark place…it felt so..dormant..Am I realy inside Masato?

***********Shirou*********************************************************************

"Any last words Emiya?" asks Kenzaki as he readies his hand for another lightning bolt

"Shirou!" yells Rin

"Yeah…I got some words for you…_The mind bores through the mountains_.."

"..What?"

".._The sword divides the river._"

I could feel my swords response to my Reinforcement. It's length grew twice, maybe thrice it's average size. It took the form of wings...black and white wings...Kanshou and Bakuya..will defeat you

"Haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa"

_*slash*zap*boom*_

Our attacks clashed. I charged towards him, as he used his magic…as the smoke cleared, we stood on either side..waiting for someone to drop

"_*pant*_ I admit Emiya…that was quite good.."

_*thud*_

He fell to the ground..my swords, now doubled in length and sharpness..slashed his body with ease…I didn't kill him..but right now, he's in no condition to fight…that's all we need for now

"Shirou!...You alright?" says Rin as she hurriedly came to me

"Yeah..I'm alright"

"That was some fighting kid…good work" says Hidei

"What do we do now?"

"We better finish him off…it'll lessen the burden on all of us, if another master is defeated.." says Rin

"Yeah..but"

We were pondering over whether to finish them now, and as we were, a noise from the bushes startled us.

"Who's there!?"

"Relax…it's only me"

"Assassin!"

We were relieved that it was Assassin..I don't think we could handle another fight

"Why did you bring him!?" asks Rin, as she sees Archer in the arms of Assassin

"I had no choice..he is in need of my help…I..kind of, promised him…and I stick to my word"

He then dropped Archer near Kenzaki, apparently he too doesn't know what to do with them

"I couldn't finish him off…"

"Well, what do we do? We can't just leave them here…they'll recover and attack us again!"

"I think…that's already been decided"

A black smoke appeared and enveloped the two bodies…and just like before, they vanished. A voice came again…probably Caster

"I can't just let you magi kill off my servants now…don't worry, you'll meet with them soon..very soon..Ahahahahahahaha"

"Caster!!"

"That reminds me…master, Archer informed me of Caster's plan" said Assassin

"Oh really? What did he say?"

"It wasn't very clear..but one thing's for sure…he said..if Caster succeeds..it will be the end of it all.."

What is he planning…and what does Assassin mean with…the end of it all? "

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

I have ventured further and further..and yet, I don't know where I'm going

"Where…do I transfer my mana.."

I then touched the walls in the hallway-like structure of the circuit

"What the.."

As my hand met the wall..golden-yellow lines shine brightly..maybe the path leads to where the lines end. I followed the lines…and found myself in a huge, dark area. The walls and the lines ended here…this must be the place. I placed a hand on my chest, and a yellow orb came out..my mana..

"I hope this works.."

I placed the orb on the ground…it was quickly absorbed, and golden lines started appearing everywhere. The dark room became bright with mana.

"Alright"

My body started to disperse again. I could feel myself floating away from the place, and before I knew it, I was outside again

"Lyra…did it work?"

As I turned around, I saw Masato stir, and finally open his eyes

"Masato!"

"_*yawn*_ Oh..Hey, Lancer..wait—What just happened?"

"Hahahahaha! It's a long story kid" says Rolf

My powers are limited now…and I haven't even faced Loki. At this rate, I'll be defeated in seconds…Loki, what is your plan for this world?

*****************************************************************************************

**Leap: Chapter 16 was published..way later than I expected. Anyways, Masato receives some part of Lancer's mana..who knows what kind of effects will it take upon Masato's body. With that said, I hope you guys continue reading^^**

**On a side note: Shirou used an ability wherein he reinforced Kanshou and Bakuya. This is also known as Kanshou and Bakuya over edge. **

**Stay tuned you guys^^**


	17. Horizon

Chapter 17 – Horizon

"_Masato!"_

"_*yawn* Oh..Hey, Lancer..wait—What just happened?"_

"_Hahahahaha! It's a long story kid" says Rolf_

_My powers are limited now…and I haven't even faced Loki. At this rate, I'll be defeated in seconds…Loki, what is your plan for this world?_

***********Masato********************************************************************

I stood in front of a battle field. Spears and arrows flying through the air. I could hear the screams of the victims, and the battle cries of the warriors. It was a sight to behold. Bloodshed, and yet, I couldn't move away. I didn't know if it was my astonishment of armored warriors battling each other, or the fact that my fear took over, either way, I didn't move. The trumpets sound, and a knight on an eight-legged horse came to the field of warriors. Each swing of his spear caused one enemy to fall.

"L-Lancer….is that you?"

I recognize the knight. It was Odin, the King of Asgard..so, does that mean this is his war? A darkness loomed on the other side. It started to envelop the skies. The warriors frantically ran away, but it was too late. Everything was getting swallowed. The darkness was headed this way. As much as I wanted to run, I can't. My legs were like a tree, rooted to the ground. The King ran towards the darkness, holding his spear aloft, and in an instant, he vanished too. The darkness crept to me, I wanted to scream but my voice couldn't come out of my mouth. I stood there, and eventually got swallowed by the darkness.

"..!"

I woke in a cold sweat. I could still feel my heart pounding from that dream.

"Oh, Masato, you're awake? Is anything wrong?" asks Lancer

He appeared to have been looking over me for a while, maybe he waited for me to wake up.

"Oh, hey Lancer. No, everything's fine." I said

I didn't want to trouble him with my dream. I don't know what was it about, but I believe, that was what really happened.

"Shirou has already prepared breakfast, shall we go?"

"Alright"

After Lancer transferred his mana, we met up with Shirou and Rin. I'm guessing they had a fight in there. I should thank them for that.

"Oh, Good morning Masato" says Rin

"Good morning RIn"

Rin sat at the table, sipping tea

"Where's Lyra?" I ask

"Lyra? She's outside with Rolf, why do you ask?"

"No reason, I was just curious, that's all"

I peered through the window, and notice it was a bit darker than the usual mornings

"Rin, is there a storm coming?"

"You noticed it too huh, well, no, there's no storm, but it's unusually dim this morning."

I stood up, and took a closer look. I stared at the dim sky, and just for a second, my vision blurred

"Huh!?"

"Why? What did you see?" asks Rin

I must've subconsciously placed my hand on my eyes

"I-It's nothing."

I sat down again, and tried to figure out what just happened

"Breakfast's ready! Oh, hey Masato, how are you feeling?" asks Shirou

He came to the table and placed the plates in front of us

"I'm fine"

"Good, well, I guess it's just the three of us, Lyra doesn't want to eat, and Hidei's asleep."

"_*sigh* _What's with those two? Oh well, more for us then" says Rin

"Itadakimasu!!"

***********Lyra***********************************************************************

"What have I gotten myself into? It's supposed to be a free for all battle, now I'm helping two masters."

I stare at the sky, hoping that it will give me the answer. When this began, I only had one goal, kill those who stand in the way. I was relieved that I didn't get to fight Hikari, she was my only friend, but, I didn't expect her brother to become part of the war. They're the only family they've got since the tragedy. *_tsk*_ What am I going to do know?

"You should continue what you're doing." Says Rolf

He jumped down from the tree near the fence, and walked up to me

"Those people are good and kind-hearted…it pains me to say it, but…we need to help them win the grail"

Rolf makes it sound like the grail's nothing. It can fulfill anything that your heart desires, and to purposely give it away just doesn't make sense.

"Do you know what you're saying Rolf!? Your purpose is to win the damn thing, not give it away!"

I didn't realize that I raised my voice. Rolf then calmly pats my shoulder

"What you say is true..but, they're not doing this for the wish, they want to stop it from being used wrongly."

He's always so calm in times like this…it makes me think that he should be the one telling me what to do, instead of the other way around.

"Do not worry master…"

I stopped my worrying. His words were still confusing, but, what he says is right. They're fighting not for themselves anymore…it's about time I did the same.

***********Rin***********************************************************************

I've been meaning to talk to Shirou about yesterday's fight. He thinks he only copied Archer and his swords…I believe he doesn't even know the truth

"Hey Rin, what were you thinking about?" asks Shirou

He steps beside me in front of the windowsill.

"N-Nothing, uhmm, where's Masato?"

I didn't want to tell him. The truth is he is Archer, the moment I saved his life. He's becoming more and more like Archer, take for example yesterday's fight, he used a technique that only he and Archer could use. I don't even know why I'm bothered by this..Archer will always be Archer, but with Shirou..well

"Masato? He's outside with Lancer."

"O-Oh..okay then"

I continued to stare at the sky

***********Masato********************************************************************

I still couldn't get that dream out of my head. It was as if it was not a dream at all, but a memory. It was so clear, and I remember every part of it. Just thinking about it gives me chills.

"Hey..Lancer?"

"Yes?"

I call out to Lancer, who was sitting still in the middle of the yard

"You said you remember only a little right?"

"Yes..my memories haven't completely recovered yet."

"Well, do you remember a…war?"

He gasped for some reason, then he motioned me to sit down beside him.

"Is the war you speak of…the war in Asgard?"

"I don't know, but…I saw you there, with a horse, and you were fighting and—"

He cut me off, it seems that it's not that he can't remember, it's because he doesn't want to remember

"It was the war which led me to my despair…it was a tragic war indeed." Says Lancer

He makes it sound like it's his fault why they lost their war. I could see him think hard about it. I decided to let him be, so I stared at the sky..and then—

_*flash*_

My eyesight began to haze again. I stood up and tried to shake it off.

"Masato!? What's wrong!?"

I could hear Lancer asking me if I were okay, but my mind was focused on what was happening to me. I began to place my hands in front of my eyes, it was like something was forcing to open my eyes while in this state. After a while, the pain and the blurredness stopped.

"Masato!? What happened!?"

Lancer came up to me. He's definitely worried. He saw me thrashing around while holding my head.

"Hey, Masato, is there something wrong?" yells Rin as she runs up to me too.

"I-I'm fine..it's nothing."

"It didn't look fine" says Rolf

He and Lyra came up to me as well

"Hey, why is everybody gathering up?" asks Shirou as he joins the crowd

"I told you guys..I'm fi—"

I was cut off at what I saw. I took a look at the sky, and that's when I saw why was it dark earlier. I could see mana, no, this wasn't ordinary mana..it was a dark mana, gathering in a spot near the mountains. It was as if my eyes saw through the clouds and saw what was really happening.

"Masato? What do you see?" asks Rin

"…mana" I said

"Mana? In the sky? Are you sure you're alright?" asks Shirou

"It's possible." Says Lyra

"Yeah…normally it can't be seen, it takes a special…gift, to see the process." Says Rin

"…clairvoyance" says Rolf

Is he saying that I have clairvoyance? It's not a real ability..or is it? I was told when I was little that things like seeing the supernatural wasn't true. I guess I just proved them wrong

"..That means"

Lancer then leaped towards the roof, and looked at the horizon at the mountains

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

That's what happened. My ability of perception has been shared with Masato, and if what he says is true..

"So..this was your plan Loki…"

I stare at the gathering point of this dark energy. It has happened before..and he's planning to do it again

"..Ragnarok"

*****************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it, chapter 17. Masato receives the ability of clairvoyance, or in other words "clear sight". In myth, Odin also has clairvoyance. In the transferring of mana, Masato gained that ability…who knows what else can Masato do?**

**Loki's planning another Ragnarok, why you ask? That's a story for another chapter**

**Until then, stay tuned everyone^^**


	18. The Gathering part 1

Chapter 18 – The Gathering part 1

_That's what happened. My ability of perception has been shared with Masato, and if what he says is true.._

"_So..this was your plan Loki…"_

_I stare at the gathering point of this dark energy. It has happened before..and he's planning to do it again_

"_..Ragnarok"_

***********Lyra***********************************************************************

I started pacing around the living room. I decided to stay at Shirou's house again, for preventive measures. I began to think about what would be our next move. I didn't know what to do, this was the first time that the grail would be used for such a thing.

"He won't succeed.." said Shirou

He then walked to me, as if to reassure me somehow.

"..I..will protect everyone.."

"Are you really that certain…can we really stop this?"

I felt so useless. I feel as if as though, Caster had already won. I couldn't see how Shirou can feel so calm about something like this

"*sigh* My father once told me…when you save someone, you fail to save somebody else…I believe, I can save everyone…and I'll need your help Lyra.."

"…alright"

"Good! Now that that's settled, Rin wants to talk to you."

"Okay then"

I know I'm weaker, compared to Shirou and the rest, and I know I won't stand a chance..but I believe in Shirou, I just hope that's enough though.

***********Lancer*********************************************************************

Ragnarok..the end of days. Hmph, now I understand…being summoned was not just by mere coincidence..I am here, to stop this from happening.

"…Loki."

I wasn't able to stop Ragnarok before…I knew it was coming, but it wasn't enough. The darkness consumed our lands. Little by little, Asgard lost.

"You know you'll need to fight him sooner or later.." said Assassin

He approaches me from the shadows and sits at the floor beside me

"I am not afraid to fight—"

"The fight is not what I was concerned about…"

He touches the brim of his straw hat, as if shielding his eyes from the sun's rays

"I don't want this world to experience the darkness that Ragnarok brings…that's why, I need to win.."

"Can you really end him?"

"..If it arrives to that decision"

"Is that so.."

"..Pardon?"

_*slash*_

Out of nowhere, he swung his katana towards me. It nearly hit my head, luckily, I was quick enough to evade it. I called out my spear, and pointed it at him.

"What is the meaning of this!?"

He readies his katana again. He steps forward, and releases another slash

_*slash*clang*_

"..!"

He continues his attacks, each one getting closer and closer to hitting me.

"You'll never defeat him like that! Now fight!"

_*slash*_

"Damn, what is wrong with you!?"

"You better start fighting…"

"Wha—?"

Darn it. What's he trying to prove? His attacks are well focused, it's like he really wants to slice me.

_*clang*slash*_

"You leave me with no choice Assassin…this ends..now!"

"Hmph.."

We both charged at each other, our weapons leading the way.

_*clang*_

He fell to the ground, his katana flying through the air and stick to the ground. I pointed my spear at him and gave him a stern look

"What purpose did you have to attack me, Assassin!?"

Without a response, he stood up and picked up his sword. He began to walk away, and then, without turning around, he said

"The final battle is at hand…kill..or be killed"

I stood there, thinking of what he said. Kill or be killed...does he imply that I don't have a chance of beating Loki?..or that..I would chose not to kill him?

***********Rin***********************************************************************

As evening came, I called everyone to the living room, to discuss our next move..

"I don't know much about Ragnarok, other than what happened to the Gods of Norse mythology…Lancer, perhaps you might know something about it?"

My knowledge of Norse mythology and Ragnarok, only covers the fact, that it was the event that ended the gods in Asgard. Aside from that, I know nothing of the possible connection of the Holy Grail to Ragnarok.

"If he wants to proclaim Ragnarok..he has to meet two conditions..the first is the power of the Holy Grail, if he were to wish for the end of days..that would only complete half of the ritual.."

"Wait..how come it would not be completed with just the grail alone?" asks Lyra

"You see..he can only go as far as opening the doorway of the Vanir to our world..he can't call upon them simply by a mere wish."

"So what's the second condition?" asks Hidei

"The second condition, is that, he needs the power of the Four Great Treasures.."

"The Four Great Treasures?" asks Masato

"I've heard about that.." I said

I remember reading about it, at the time when I was looking for Lancer's identity

"They're the different artifacts, found in the four realms..it is said that whoever wields them, will have power beyond compare.."

"That's right..The treasures will be the key, for him to summon the Vanir to this world."

"Can't he just summon them normally..he's a god right?" asks Shirou

"In this realm..our powers as gods have fallen greatly..perhaps an effect of being called upon as a servant"

As a matter of fact, gods aren't supposed to be called upon as servants..How Lancer came to be is still a mystery to me..

"So, where are the Four Treasures?" I ask

"One is with me..the spear, Gungnir. The others have yet to be found in your realm.."

"Do you know the names of the other three?" Masato asks

"Of course, first is the magical bow, created by the elves of Alfheim, capable of purging evil souls and the like, the Sylvan Bow. Second, is the cursed vessel, which turns it's user into a vile dragon, it could also be used to summon dragons, at a certain cost, the Draconian Orb..and lastly, the demon sword, supposedly crafted in the land of the dead and the suffering, the Levantine"

If Caster were to acquire those treasures, he would be unstoppable, even if we combined all our efforts, it would still lead to our death, that's why..

"We mustn't let him get a hold of those artifacts!"

"We won't let him. It's our task to locate them before he does..that'll be the time to fight him." said Hidei

With that, I ended the meeting. The battle has stopped for a while; instead, it became a race against time. This war, is definitely not like the others..alliances have been made, and unlikely servants were summoned. Could this be the Holy Grail's doing? Could this be the start of a new kind of servant war?

***************************************************************************************************

**Leap: There you have it folks, chapter 18, we now know what Caster needs for him to proclaim Ragnarok. The chapter is called the gathering, because of the new task, which is the locating of the three other treasures^^ (just so nobody's confused with the title) Where are those treasures? What's so important about them? We'll find out next time so...**

**stay tuned everybody!!^^  
**


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